Remembering the Memories
by IronSparrow99
Summary: What do you get when you add magic, secrets, and memories never supposed to be seen again? Well apparently, you get six superheroes having a front row seat to the secrets of one of their own. **ON HIATUS**
1. Chapter 1

I hate magic.

For a number of reasons. Loki, the Tesseract, the Chitauri. Personally, I think technology and science are much more stable and reliable.

But the main reason I hate magic was the fact that it was the reason I was currently curled up in a hard plastic chair by the side of a hospital bed, watching monitors jump and blink as they monitored my dad's heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure, among other things.

The last mission had started out pretty routine – for us, anyways. There were automated, Pinocchio-type puppets attacking the subway system. We smashed the puppets and eventually worked our way towards the root of the problem, a young girl with glowing orange hands and psychedelic eyes.

She had told us that the modern world was evil, and that Earth needed to go medieval again to be restored to its former glory, its 'golden age', as she put it. When we laughed in her face, she suddenly looked very petulant and said she could convince us that she was right. She then looked around at all of us, seemingly studying us, before she looked at the sky and nodded.

All she had to do was snap her fingers for my dad's comms to cut off and for him to go down like a sack of lead. I would have rushed over, but I couldn't move. I don't think anyone could, not even Hulk. The girl then clapped her hands and disappeared, leaving only the faint smell of sulfur and a note.

I glance down at the wrinkled square of paper in my hands. _How can this be all we have?_

 _Dear Heroes –_

 _Heed my words, for they may be the key to saving the man of metal. If you will not join me in the past, I will do my best to convince you. When you are ready to see how, join your entire team in the same room as the man of metal and each place a hand on his skin._

 _Salutations,_

 _Me_

"Any change?"

I almost drop the note as I look up to see Clint standing on the other side of the bed, two coffee cups in hand. I roll the paper up and set it in my pocket as I take one of the paper cups, shaking my head. "Not here, no. He still has a pulse, he still hasn't moved, let alone woken up. How are things coming with Bruce?"

"He hasn't found anything. He was wondering if he could get the note for handwriting analysis."

"Just don't let anyone lose it." I warn as I hand the paper over. "Have we considered following the instructions yet?"

Clint sighs. "It's still a last resort. We don't know if it's a trap, or if it could hurt him. Villains aren't known for being truthful." he points out.

"I know." I admit softly. "But it's also _all we have_. What if, this one time, she's telling the truth?"

Clint sighs again as he comes around the bed to wrap me in a warm hug. "I'll talk to Bruce and Steve again. I'm sorry, sparrow, I wish this was easier."

"When is anything ever easy?"

"Good point. Now, I was supposed to be here to relieve you. You want to go home?"

"Ha, no."

"I figured as much." he chuckles as he drag a chair over. "But I can't go home again without you, or else Natasha and Bruce will make me suffer. So it looks like you've got company."

I just shrug and shift in the chair again, trying to find a comfortable position.

"I brought cards, you up for Go Fish?"

 **A~A~A**

The entire team was in the room within the next hour because Bruce hadn't found anything, Thor didn't recognize the magic, and they only idea we had left was mine – following the instructions.

"Is everybody sure about this?" Bruce speaks up.

"We don't know what we'll see." I explain. "It could be his memories, his secrets, his hopes, dreams…we have no idea whatsoever."

"So if you are not fully prepared, you can leave now and nobody will hold it against you." Steve tells us.

Nobody moves.

I expected no less.

"Ready?" Bruce asks, and we all nod.

"Okay then." Steve takes a deep breath. "On three, we establish contact. One."

"Two." Bruce continues.

I breathe out and blink slowly. "Three!"

I grab my dad's right hand, Bruce grabs his right wrist, Steve lays a hand on his stomach, Thor grabs a knee, Natasha's hand brushes against his ankle, and Clint lays a hand on his forehead.

Then there's a stabbing pain behind my eyes, like a spike being driven through my skull, as the colors in the room grow more vivid before everything goes white.

The silence.

And nothing.


	2. Chapter 2

Was I dead?

I'm pretty sure I was dead. The last thing I remember was vivid color and the all absence of color, sort of like a balloon inflating to full capacity and then being popped.

Wait. I don't think I'm dead, because I'm not the only one here, wherever this is.

I groan and concentrate my efforts into prying open my pinched eyes, only to groan louder and slam them shut again when they're met with a really bright white scene.

There's some scuffling, another groan that isn't mine, and then a soft voice, one I know well.

"Taylor, you can open your eyes now."

I try again to pry my eyes open, this time coming face to face with a pair of grey eyes. Clint has his face blocking mine from the harsh whiteness, and his hand is cupped over my brow as a makeshift visor. "Am I dead?"

"I should hope not, because the whole gang is here." he chuckles, and I blink a few times before telling him he can move now.

I let my eyes get adjusted to my pure white surroundings and I blink around to see Steve slowly propping himself into a seated position and rubbing his head, Thor looking at everything with a bewildered expression, and Bruce and Natasha checking everyone for injuries.

"Where are we?" I wonder aloud.

" _Good question, Miss Stark."_ a voice responds from everywhere and nowhere, and it's not Jarvis' demure British tones, but a woman's voice instead. _"I should really think you would recognize this space, seeing as you have one just like it."_

"What? Unless I've been purchasing rooms in my sleep again…"

" _No."_ the voice says exasperatedly. _"We are currently inside the mind of one Anthony Edward Stark. You possess one just like it."_

I dubiously glance around at our pristine, diamond white surroundings. "There is no way this my dad's brain. If his is just like mine, it's cluttered and ideas are a dime a dozen."

" _More like a subconscious, then. Where he goes to escape."_

"This is nice and all," Natasha interrupts, speaking up for the first time, "but why are we here? And who are you?"

" _You may refer to me as The Voice. And you are here because you followed my instructions, like Miss Stark said."_

Okay, for the record, I never expected the instructions to land me in my dad's mind.

" _You are here to do as I specified on the note; watch the secrets of Tony Stark unfold before you like the best book of all time. Have a seat and let us begin."_

I'm about to ask where we sit when a set of couches, red velvet and overstuffed, appears out of nowhere – at least, they weren't there five minutes ago.

We all look at each other before Steve shrugs. Clint and I take one of the loveseats, Bruce and Natasha a second one, and finally Steve and Thor sink onto a loveseat that's more of a full-sized couch.

" _Good."_ the Voice sounds again. _"Now, one more note before the first memory; I've removed all your weapons and Dr. Banner cannot become Hulk. We wouldn't want to leave Mr. Stark mentally damaged, would we? No."_

We all sigh as a screen appears and flickers to life before bracing ourselves for what we might see.

 **A~A~A**

" _Daddy, Daddy!" a young girl, about one year of age, cries out in joy as she toddles towards a younger looking Tony Stark._

"Awwww." Natasha turns to me. "That is so cute."

I just glare at her good-naturedly, keeping one eye on the monitor.

" _Come on, Taylor, come to daddy! Atta girl." Tony coos gently, and Taylor wobbles a little before continuing on her path._

 _She suddenly squeaks and begins to tumble, but Tony swoops in and lifts her before she can do so._

" _You got further this time!" Tony cheers as he cradles his daughter in his arms. "This is so much better than meetings. Daddy doesn't like meetings, but he's more than happy to teach you basic motor skills, yes he is."_

 _Taylor grins and gurgles as she flops her head back onto his arm. "Daddy."_

" _Yeah, Taylor?"_

" _Why no like meetings?"_

"Your speech was so advanced." Bruce muses, looking at me with a scientist's eye.

I shrug indifferently. "I'm a genius with motor mouth genes, I guess."

Bruce just nods and we turn our attention back to the screen.

" _Well," Tony begins thoughtfully as he shifts Taylor in his arms, "Daddy really doesn't like meetings because they are full of people who think they know better than us, that we are stupid. Are we stupid?"_

" _No!" Taylor giggles, and it actually sounds like an unscripted response, not the mocking bird types babies usually give._

" _No, of course not. But these people think that, and Daddy really doesn't like it when people call him stupid."_

" _Now when has anyone done that, Tony?" a new voice asks, and another man is revealed, this one with thinning brown hair and blue eyes._

" _I can name a few times, Obie."_

I glare at the seemingly trusting figure. "God, how I hate him…"

Clint lays a hand on my arm. "I know, Taylor, I know."

 _Obie just rolls his eyes. "Come on, Tony, you're just being sensitive. They didn't mean it. Can I hold her?"_

 _Tony nods and shifts Taylor into Obie's outstretched arms._

" _Obie!" Taylor shrieks happily, and Obie grins at her and bounces her on his hip._

" _Tony, you were supposed to be at a design meeting half an hour ago."_

 _Tony just shrugs noncommittally. "I'm the man of the hour, they can't start without me. Plus, I had bigger fish to fry." Tony nods at his daughter, who is currently fingering Obie's suit lapels._

" _Fishy?" Taylor asks brightly._

" _No, sweetie, no fishy." Tony assures her with a grin. "Daddy was joking with Obie."_

" _Why don't you put the kid with a nanny?"_

 _Tony taps his foot, annoyed. "How many times do I have to remind you not to call her that? Plus, I refuse to become my father."_

" _Your father was just distracted Tony." Obie insists._

" _That doesn't change the fact that he was never there!" Tony snaps, before forcible lowering his voice. "I need to be there for her Obie, I can't make her relive my memories."_

"Well then this is ironic." I mutter.

" _I'm not talking 24/7-"_

" _No, but if I go to one meeting, they'll push for more. And more. And soon, we will be talking 24/7. Now, don't you have clients to go calm down?"_

 _Obie sighs at the obvious dismissal and hands Taylor back to her father, turning on his heel and leaving the room._

 _All is silent for a moment before Taylor wriggles in Tony's arm and he sets her on a blanket, crouching down and handing her a plastic screwdriver._

" _You're my first priority, sweetheart. You may not understand that right now, but it'll always be as true as the laws of physics."_

 **A~A~A**

The screen fades to black, leaving us all staring at it dumbly.

"Just so you know," I announce suddenly, breaking the silence, "that's as close as any of you will ever get to my baby pictures. I digitized them, burned the hard copies, and firewalled the digital copies like nobody's business."

Natasha just nods with a grin before sighing and running a hand through her hair. "Well, that was insightful."

"What did that guy mean, distracted?" Steve asks. "Distracted by what?"

"From what little I've heard," I begin cautiously, "you. We don't talk about Howard much, but I've gathered that Howard became obsessed with finding you and spared little time for his wife and son."

"I never meant…" Steve starts but trails off, and I just nod before leaning back into the seat and Clint.

"I know. Now, let's see what's next on this YouTube playlist of doom."


	3. Chapter 3

"Why do you think we're here?" I wonder aloud as I lean against Clint in the plush red loveseat.

"You would know better than anyone." Natasha points out.

"Yeah," I agree, "I would. _If_ I knew what this girl – or whomever she's working for or with – wanted."

"Okay. Well, she was talking about going medieval." Bruce hypothesizes. "And about convincing us."

"So she needed leverage." Natasha continues.

"But she wanted _all_ of us, so she couldn't _use_ one of us." Clint supplies.

"So she needed something else." Steve guesses.

"That's _it_!" I squeal. "I got it!"

"Care to share?" Clint teases good-naturedly.

"She needed leverage." I reiterate. "And leverage is usually emotional. But she couldn't use one of us, so she used something else close to the vest. What is the most important thing to a spy…or people with dark pasts?"

"Secrets!" Natasha exclaims.

"Bingo! And just behind Tasha and Clint in the total secrets count is my dad."

"But he-" Steve starts hesitantly.

"Yes, I know he talks a lot, but never, ever about anything important. Tech, projects, nicknames…give him an hour, and he'll blow your eardrums out. Anything actually important like his past, my past, or the weapons designs? You would have better luck stealing Clint's bow."

"And good luck with _that._ " Clint snorts.

"So how shall we proceed?" Thor booms.

"I think...I think we need to stay." Bruce sighs. "As uncomfortable as that is, we can't risk trying to get out and hurting Tony."

I nod appreciatively, pulling my knees up to my chest in the process because this is _private information_ , but I can sit through my childhood again if it's necessary to save my dad.

"Hey." Clint calls, gently tugging me under his outstretched arm. "It's starting again."

 **A~A~A**

 _A low buzz fills the room, on and off again, as sparks fly into the face shield of a slightly older Taylor wearing a Stark Industries t-shirt._

" _Are you playing with sparks again?" a gentle voice calls, and Taylor flips the face plate up to see Tony watching from the doorway with a glass of scotch in hand._

"He drank around you?" Steve asks indecorously.

I just shrug. "Well, yeah. But he also trusted me with weapons of mass destruction, and I turned out fine."

"Mostly fine." Clint amends from next to me.

"Mostly?! You're the one dating me!"

"Perfection is overrated." he assures me with a pat on the shoulder.

"Anyways," I continue after rolling my eyes. "I grew up around _Tony Stark,_ Steve. You hated him after a few _hours_ , I lived with ten feet of him for _fourteen years_ before I even _met_ you."

" _Uh…no?" Taylor squeaks uncertainly._

" _You sure?" Tony asks with appointed glance at the tools in her hands._

" _Yes, yes I am." Taylor nods persuasively as she slowly sets the tools down on the table._

 _Tony shakes his head and approaches the table. "Why is my three year old playing with fire?"_

 _Taylor frowns and scrunches her brow. "But you just said sparks."_

 _Tony sighs and waves a hand impatiently. "What are you working on?"_

" _A surprise!" Taylor grins, showing her tongue through a gap in her teeth._

" _Oh, a surprise, I get it." Tony nods slowly, crouching down to be on eye level with his three year old daughter. "Will it hurt the Tower?"_

" _Nuh uh."_

" _Will hurt you?"_

 _Taylor shakes her head._

" _Will it hurt me or one of the bots?"_

" _No, daddy."_

 _Tony grins and stands, ruffling Taylor's hair. "Then go get 'em, tiger. You know where to find me."_

 _Taylor grins at Tony's back as he retreats from the room._

 _Once he's gone, she pulls a shoebox from under the desk and pulls a square plate about four inches by four inches with wires hanging off it. "Daddy will love this, won't he Jarvie?"_

" _I'm sure he will, Miss Stark. He did quite the same around your age." a cool British voice says, seemingly out of thin air._

" _M'kay, Jarvie. Dummy, I need a soldering wrench!"_

 _Cameras flash and reporters yell as Tony stands at a podium, cards in hand._

" _Mr. Stark! Over here!"_

" _Ah, yes, you, over there."_

" _When did you know my daughter was a genius?"_

" _Officially, I knew when she handed me that circuit board she made last week. Even I waited till four to do that. She's either a genius or really competitive. Most likely both."_

 _The journalist scribbles something in a notebook and another person with a camera steps up. "Mr. Stark!"_

" _You, there."_

" _What do you plan to do from here?"_

" _Well, right now she's already in kindergarten, about three years ahead of her classmates, and I'll just keep her on track from there. If this works, she should graduate high school before she's a teenager."_

" _Mr. Stark!"_

" _Yes, you."_

" _Can we see the young genius herself?"_

 _Tony's face and spine suddenly stiffen. "No, I'm afraid not. Being a genius is hard work, she's at home napping."_

"I have a feeling you aren't at home napping." Clint muses, looking between me and three year old me. "So where are you?"

"Well if there was a way to pause this…" I mumble, blinking as the scene freezes before me. "Okay then. Zoom in the upper left corner."

A bodyguard comes into full view, standing in front of something.

"See, right…there?" I point at a shadow behind the guard. "That'd be yours truly."

Everyone squints at the barely visible black hoodie.

"Wow, you are good." Clint high fives me.

"Technically that's the work of the security department and my dad." I shrug. "But I'll take credit."

" _That's all for now, I have to get back to weapons and my daughter. Peace out!" Tony turns and – flanked by several huge bodyguards – makes his way off stage and heads for the limo._

" _What was that?" Taylor asks once they're both safe in the car._

" _Press, sweetie." he pats her knee. "That was press. Future reference: it's okay to lie to them and hate them so long as you smile."_

 **A~A~A**

"Well that was cynical."

I blink at Clint and shrug. "It's the truth. Press is evil and full of liars that will twist anything you say and you can say anything with a smile to sugar coat it."

"And _that_ was even more cynical." He restates as he squeezes my shoulders.

I sigh and leans back against his arm.

"So is this your entire childhood?" Steve asks quietly. "Cynicism, tools, scotch, press, and bombs?"

"Well there was also my dad's playboy reputation…"

"He had girls over with a _three year old?!_ " Steve shrieks. "What were you doing?"

"Talking to Jarvis and doing homework." I mumble. "Quit judging, Captain Sparkle Suit."

Steve huffs at me and I give him a signature smirk. "That's what I thought. Just wait and see."

"Does it get better?" Bruce asks quietly.

"Depends."

"On what?"

"Your definition of _better_."


	4. Chapter 4

"Was Tony a good parent?"

I send Steve a confused glance. "Of course. Why do you ask?"

He shrugs. "I don't know. He just seems like an eternal college boy while raising you."

I snort. "Well, he's better now, I was a perfectly fine kid and that's all that matters. Have you raised a child, Steve?"

Steve sighs and gives a small shake of the head.

"Then don't talk about what you don't know." I sigh exasperatedly. "Now, it's starting again, let's watch more of my childhood, shall we?"

 **A~A~A**

" _Have you finished that Sherman warhead yet, Tay?" Obie asks as he looks in on a five year old Taylor._

" _No." Taylor sighs, looking up at her godfather. "I should have it done by Friday."_

" _Your dad could have had it done by now when he was your age." Obie huffs, crossing his arms._

" _Well I am obviously not my dad." Taylor snaps suddenly. "He's downstairs if you're looking for him. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have third grade math to do."_

"Pause." Natasha commands. "What was _that_?"

"That," I sigh, "was me hating being compared to my dad. I think it might be genetic, since my dad hates being compared to Howard." I glance sharply at Steve. "And, just for the record, I asked; it would have taken my dad just as long as it took me to build that missile. Thanks, Obie." I scowl at the screen.

"Oh. Makes sense. Resume."

 _Taylor grabs her book and quickly heads towards the doorway that doesn't have an Obie in it, leaving Obie to stare at her back in annoyance._

 _The lab doors swish open, causing Tony to look up from his bundle of wires._

 _The newest occupant of the room is Taylor, carrying a backpack over one shoulder and a tablet in the other._

" _Homework?" Tony asks lightly._

 _Taylor just nods breathlessly as her bag hits an empty worktable with a thud. "Yeah," she pants. "Homework. And then a missile."_

" _Don't rush on that just to do the missile." Tony reminds her. "I can do the missile."_

" _You can also do third grade math." Taylor points out as she props her feet up and powers up the tablet._

" _I'm not supposed to though." Tony counters. "Hey, did you get the online version of those textbooks yet?"_

 _Taylor shakes her head with a scowl. "They're not giving them out. They say third graders can still use paper books."_

" _Then what are you doing there?" Tony asks with a nod towards the tablet._

" _Well, someone might have hacked the necessary teachers and gotten the books anyways." Taylor drawls with a smirk._

 _Tony blinks at her, then "Is it untraceable?"_

" _Of course."_

" _Carry on then." Tony chirps as he grabs a tool from another table and hunches over his project._

 _The next sound heard is Taylor jovially announcing that she was finished, telling Jarvis to scan the papers and send them to her teacher under her name._

 _Taylor lets the tablet power down as she goes to a back room, dragging out a cart with a tarp covering it._

 _A quick pull of the tarp reveals a missile about two feet long, shaped like a steel torpedo._

"A missile?" Clint asks gently. "At five?"

"At four." I correct, pointing at the now frozen screen. "That's a Sherman 12-SCF Warhead. My own design. They began production in 2004, ended after Afghanistan like everything else. That single missile packs enough punch to wipe out a small African country. It was the predecessor and junior to the Jericho missile, and a possible suspect in the 2010 bombing of Anthony Edward Stark." I recite, from memory, in a robotic tone as I focus entirely on the ceiling, hating the fact that this isn't causing me to cry anymore.

Clint slowly reaches out, extending both a hand and an invitation, which I accept and lean into him and work on banishing the darker thoughts.

"I take back whatever I said in that evaluation about your childhood being easy." Natasha whispers. "You were building bombs before you graduated elementary school."

"I had it better than the rest of you." I whisper mournfully. "Except Thor. No brainwashing, no abuse, no killing."

"You were killing too." Clint murmurs shakily. "Younger than I was. You just didn't see it."

I sigh and burrow myself into his hoodie as the memory resumes.

 _Taylor is almost giddy as she snatches her tools from one of the robots and scoots around to the back of the bomb, where there's about a two inch exposed space, and starts soldering wires._

" _Dad, did you get the structural diagnostics done?"_

" _Yeah. Dummy, give your sister that tablet, will you?"_

"Sister?" Steve looks at me quizzically.

I smile slightly as I explain. "Dummy, You, and Butterfingers are sort of my brothers. I mean, I obviously mean the most to my dad, but those three are a close third, just after Jarvis."

"Right." Steve breathes slowly as he shakes his head.

"Now quit interrupting." I snap with mock seriousness.

 _Taylor takes the tablet from the bot, patting him on the head before shooing him away and turning back to the missile._

" _Hey Dad?"_

" _Yeah?"_

" _Tell Obie I can do it by Saturday instead, see how he takes it."_

 **A~A~A**

"You were a vindictive little squirt!" Clint regards me with a little awe as we all get up to stretch. "I'm glad I'm not Tony."

"I'm glad you're not my Dad either. I can't date my dad." I point out, giggling slightly as Clint screws up his face is disgust.

"That was a most depressing memory." Thor declares. "Mayhap the next one will be happier?"

I nod with a sigh. "I hope so, Thor."

"How long do we have to stay in here?" Steve wonders aloud as he pops some vertebrae.

I hum doubtfully as I shrug. "I have no clue. If these are only memories with me in them, we watch until you guys met me, with is…about eight years from this last memory."

Everyone groans quietly but no other complaint is heard.

"Well, get ready to watch eight years of your life again." Bruce groans slightly.


	5. Chapter 5

"Bruce?"

"Sorry, I…ah…what?"

"You want to quit staring now?" I ask dryly, twitching an eyebrow. "Or start working on you deception skills?"

All I get in response is a stuttering, stumbling, blushing scientist.

I hold up a hand to calm him. "It's alright," I sigh. "I'm assuming you had a question."

"Yeah." Bruce nods. "Your schooling. College grad at 16, but the entire timeline…?"

I tip my head over, resting my right temple on my fingertips, with a sigh as I mentally backtrack through my very speedy education. "Okay…so what do you already know?"

"You graduated MIT at 16 with a master's in every mechanical and electrical engineering." Bruce supplies.

"Degrees you didn't really need," Natasha adds, "but mere formalities."

"Right." I nod my conformation. "So, back up four years, I both graduated high school and entered MIT at 12."

I pause briefly, letting this sink in as I reach back further. "Another four years back means I became a freshman at 8 and entered elementary school at 3."

"What about middle school?" Bruce cuts in. "Junior high?"

"I never set foot in a brick-and-mortar middle school." I admit. "I took virtual classes alongside third, fourth, and fifth grades."

"So you took two entire grades at the same time for _three years_?" Natasha asks curiously, her tone dusted with skepticism.

"Elementary school was a joke." I shrug. "Two plus two?" I scoff. "Please. Someone ask me what 2.5 million is times 4 thousand."

"Okay." Bruce shrugs. "2.5 million times 4K?"

I'm only quiet for about a millisecond. "One billion. 1 with 9 zeroes. Want the scientific notation?"

"Alright, hotshot." Clint gently brings me back to earth. "We get it. Now come on, it's starting again."

I curl under his arm again as we all look towards the screen in front of us.

 **A~A~A**

" _All your pencils?" Obie asks as he follows a slightly taller Taylor through a doorway as she struggles with the zipper on a backpack. "Let me get that."_

" _All my pencils." Taylor sighs as she hands over the bag. "And pens, rulers, notebooks, papers, and even apples. Although I doubt putting an apple on each teachers' desk will truly work."_

" _The worst they can do is say no and leave you with eight apples." Obie shrugs. "Might help you make friends, genius."_

" _Right." Taylor scoffs with an eye roll as she slings the bag, fully zipped, over her shoulder. "An eight year old freshman,_ _ **apples**_ _will be all I need to make friends with kids almost twice my age."_

" _Can't hurt to try." Obie shrugs again. "Now come on, you have a school to be at."_

" _Thanks Obie!" Taylor waves as a dark green mustang pulls away from a curb, turning to face the looming school building in front of her with a sigh._

" _High school. Right. I can do this." she murmurs quietly, purely to herself, as she straightens her back and smiles, pacing confidently up the sidewalk towards the front doors of the school._

 _Until "Hey, kid, didn't your mother tell you never to talk to yourself?" and a looming shadow forces her to freeze, wincing at the mention of her absent parental figure._

" _I asked you a question, kid." the voice restates, and Taylor is spun around with a feeble mew. "Answer me."_

 _Taylor just purses her lips and stares._

" _Alright boys." a meat headed jock, the owner of the voice – a boy named Martin Anderson, cracks his knuckles. "Let's show freak show here," he sneers, "what we do to people who disrespect us."_

 _Taylor barely has time to yelp as she's stripped of her bag and grabbed by the arms, forcibly dragged to a secluded corner of the side of the school._

 _Everything is a blur from then on; just pain, jeers, and a feeling of hopelessness and helplessness she, as a Stark, was not used to._

 _Eventually they leave._

 _Eventually Taylor is left with just an eye swollen half-shut, aching muscles, and tears pouring freely out of the non-injured eye._

 _She digs into her hoodie pocket and produces a phone in a shaking hand. "Jarvis?" she whispers uncertainly._

" _Right here, ma'am. Do you need me to call medical professionals?"_

" _No!" Taylor yelps before she can calm her reaction. "No. Just…is dad home today?"_

" _He is." Jarvis confirms. "He wanted to be free in case you needed him."_

" _Well I need him now." Taylor sighs, inaudible to the AI. "How do I get home, J?"_

" _The quickest route would be down Park Street, onto 7_ _th_ _, and then down Sarahi Blvd."_

" _Great." Taylor nods, slipping her phone back in her pocket and pulling her hood up to cover her eyes and shadow her face before shakily getting to her feet and walking away._

" _Sir, Miss Stark has arrived home." Jarvis announces, causing Tony to slide out from under a car to glance at a clock._

 _8:50. "Why would she be out?" Tony wonders aloud, getting no response from Jarvis except for the information that she's in the living room._

 _Tony wipes his hands on his jeans and jogs u the stairs and towards the designated room._

 _And finds his daughter with a gasp._

 _Taylor is sitting on one of the couches, curled slightly into herself. What little of her face that is viewable is bruised, her left eye almost swollen shut._

" _Taylor?!"_

" _Dad." she cries, instantly jumping up and running towards her dad, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Daddy."_

" _Oh, sweetheart." Tony sighs as he gently leads her over to the couch. "What happened?"_

" _M-mean kids…" Taylor stutters, barely swallowing sobs._

" _On your first day?" Tony inquires sympathetically. "Me too."_

" _R-really?" Taylor sniffs, looking up at him. "You?"_

" _Of course." Tony snorts. "I was only a year ahead of you."_

" _What did you do?" Taylor asks, drying her eyes but keeping her head on her dad's lap._

" _Hired some bigger kids to be bodyguards." he boasts proudly. "And I can get you the same thing. I know some members of the security team that would gladly do that."_

" _Really?" Taylor asks again, her voice stronger but still subdued._

" _Psh, of course." Tony snorts._

" _Dad?"_

" _Yeah?"_

" _Is it safe to sleep?"_

" _Yeah. Get some sleep, sweetheart, I'll be right here."_

" _Thanks…"_

 _Tony just softly orders Jarvis to dim the lights a little and pull up some holograms, all the while stroking his daughter's hair._

 **A~A~A**

The room doesn't make a sound as I blink at that particular memory, one I had actually put on the back burner.

Until now.

"See?" I whisper. "A good parent."

Steve just nods before stating his own sentiment. "I went through the same thing, you know. As a kid. I was the sick kid with asthma."

"Me too." Clint speaks up, surprising me.

"You?"

"Me." he nods. "The scruffy, small kid who did not know when to shut his mouth."

"Me three." Bruce agrees. "The nerdy kid, with huge textbooks and glasses and freckles to match."

"Loki suffered much the same fate on Asgard." Thor admits. "People disliked him for appreciating libraries more than battlefields."

I nod silently, grinning like a madwoman at their support, before I suddenly burst out laughing.

"What?" Clint demands good-naturedly.

"If they could see us now…" I gasp before collapsing into another fit of giggles and taking Steve, Bruce, and Clint with me.

Take that, Martin Anderson.


	6. Chapter 6

"What did you do?"

"Hmm?"

"After the last memory. What happened?" Steve prods gently.

I slowly open my eyes, not moving from where I was curled next to Clint, under his arm. "My dad brought me hiking boots."

"Come again?"

"My dad bought me hiking boots." I repeat. "A pair of industrial strength, matte black hiking boots. I brought my bodyguard to school the next day and bruised Martin's shins until they looked like eggplants."

"Was no disciplinary action taken against you?" Thor squints at me.

"Nope." I smile smugly. "Because guess who bought out the school not even an hour after I came home the day before?"

Natasha's face gains a devious smirk. "He didn't."

"He did." I nod smugly. "High school was a breeze after that."

Steve and Clint both send me an amused huff.

"Did he do things like that often?" Bruce wonders aloud. "Buy out buildings and stuff for you?"

I raise an eyebrow. "You are asking if I took advantage of the silver spoon I was born with?"

"Well when you put it like _that_ …" Bruce fidgets with his glasses nervously.

"No." I sigh, suddenly tense. "No, I did not. He only did things like that when there was no other way. A last resort if you will." I pause. "Of course, I didn't spend much time around things that were made by either me or my dad, so the need wasn't truly there anyways…"

"It's starting again," Steve calls, and I relax into Clint again as the screen resumes.

 **A~A~A**

" _Straighten your back!" an instructor calls, and six pairs of children check their posture._

 _Taylor glances at her partner, a stranger, before looking over his shoulder to send a mournful look at her dad, who just gives her an apologetic shrug and a 'nothing I can do' look._

" _One two three! One two three! Pick up the pace!" The instructor hollers, sounding more like a drill sergeant than a dance instructor._

" _One!"_

 _Turn right._

" _Two!"_

 _Step back._

" _Three!"_

 _Turn back to the left._

 _Taylor was learning how to waltz._

" _You need to learn how to waltz, Obie said." she grumbles quietly. "It's necessary, he said."_

"Wait," Clint interrupts. "Why was it necessary?"

"Galas." I offer, slipping into a mocking copy of Obie's voice. "The heir of Stark Industries must learn how to conduct herself at charity events and parties."

"Why was your dad on board?"

"He didn't have much choice in the matter." I shrug.

" _Spin your partners!"_

 _Taylor twists under her partners arm before taking his hand again. "Why are you here?"_

" _My mom. Eton Incorporated. You?"_

" _Dad. Well, technically godfather. Stark Industries."_

"Wait, this Obie character is your other godfather?" Steve asks, surprised. "Why haven't we met him?"

I just stare at Steve as Natasha leans over from her couch to hiss something in Steve's ear. Afterwards he just leans back, stunned as ever.

 _The boy nods with a sigh, "Let's get this over with," as he spins Taylor again._

" _Let's." Taylor agrees._

" _Miss Stark!" The instructor howls. "Are you talking?"_

 _Taylor just keeps her eyes on her stepping feet._

" _Well?" The instructor demands._

 _Taylor looks up slowly, her blue eyes and jaw set and hardened._

"Uh oh." Natasha chuckles. "That's the face you use when you're about to do something rash and impulsive."

"It is." I agree softly, smirking at my ten year old self. "Oh yes it is."

Natasha just blinks at me.

" _What if I was?" Taylor challenges._

" _Then this is your third strike, Miss Stark, and I will be forced to evacuate you from my class."_

" _You_ _ **will be**_ _forced?" Taylor back talks, pursing her lips as she releases her partner with a nod._

" _Miss Stark." The instructor sighs. "I need you to leave my class, if you will, and please do not come back."_

" _Oh, I will, that's for sure." Taylor snarls. "I'm not going to step foot in this room ever again."_

 _She stomps up to the instructor and a booted foot sweeps out and knock his feet out from under him. "Never."_

 _The ten year old then storms out, her dad quickly in tow._

" _Nice going back there." Tony pants as he catches up to Taylor, who is leaning against the car outside. "Was it necessary?"_

" _I don't know." she shrugs. "Maybe I could have been more civil. But riddle me this: was in fun?"_

" _I'm assuming so." Tony nods as he goes to start the car._

" _We have a winner!" Taylor chuckles softly as she climbs into the car._

" _Obie's gonna be mad." Tony warns._

" _Obie," Taylor snorts, "should have really expected this. You didn't like these classes either."_

" _Yeah," Tony admits, "but I just hid out in an unused lab at school." he points out. "I didn't insult the instructor."_

" _I didn't actually hurt him!" Taylor whines. "Just knocked him down."_

 _Tony just rolls his eyes and ruffles her hair. "Come on, let's get home. The Secretary of the Navy called, he wants more LRT-C4's."_

" _Doesn't Penn have any other suppliers?"_

 _Tony just shrugs._

" _Fine. Can we get ice cream on the way home?" Taylor suggests hopefully._

" _Ice cream then weapons. Got it."_

 **A~A~A**

"So here you were ten." Steve looks at me. "When did Iron Man happen?"

I tilt my head slightly. "About three years after this, I think. Pretty sure I spent my thirteenth birthday looking for my dad."

Nobody needs further explanation as to what I mean.

That particular set of bad memories is coming up soon enough.


	7. Chapter 7

"We should only have one year left." I sigh and rest my head on Clint's shoulder. "At most two."

"Hey," Clint soothes, stroking my hair, "it will be okay, you'll see. We already know you both got out of it alive."

"Not without severe psychological damage on my part and a four-inch deep hole in my dad's chest." I snap, then sigh. "Sorry."

"It is perfectly acceptable to get defensive right now." Natasha points out with a shrug. "We are literally sitting _inside your dad's brain._ I don't blame you a bit."

"We still have no idea how to get out." Bruce points out. "Or who this girl is."

"Or where she is." Steve amends.

"Or how to catch her." I sigh again. "Well then…all we can do is sit, wait, and watch what goes on in my dad's head."

"It's not at all what I thought it would be." Steve comments dryly, glancing around at our pristine surroundings.

"You should see his main brain," I snort, "because that is more like your ideals. Parts scattered everywhere, numbers more common than words…"

Bruce blinks at me. "How would you know what your dad's brain looks like?"

"I have one just like it, except, you know, smaller." I shrug easily.

"The magical screen of the past is beginning again!" Thor booms as shift my weight on the couch and run my fingers along a manicured seam.

"Here we go again…"

 **A~A~A**

" _Ladies and gentlemen, parents, students, and alumni, welcome to The Calhoun School for the graduation of the class of 2011!"_

 _Behind a thick velvet curtain, Taylor straightens her black robe and cap over her green dress._

" _Now, let's welcome to the stage…"_

 _A flick of the tassel…_

"… _our valedictorian of the senior class…"_

 _Make sure the skirt isn't riding up…_

" _Taylor Stark!"_

 _Taylor strides towards the podium with the same prowess she holds in meetings, robe billowing behind her as she grins and waves at her classmates and their parents' and/or guardians. Her smile widens when she spots Tony, clapping near the back with his sunglasses and a baseball cap on, and he flashes a discreet thumbs up._

" _Thank you!" Taylor settles the crowd, once she's given a stepstool for the podium. "Thank you. Now..," she clears her throat, "I was supposed to have a speech. So, here goes."_

" _I am not a normal case. By any means. I am here, standing before you, as a twelve year old graduate, let alone valedictorian, almost six years behind the rest of you. I was told, four years ago, that I would never make it. Well," she shrugs, "I did._ _ **We**_ _did. We all ignored the naysayers, pushed through, and stayed afloat long enough to be here. Here, in this auditorium. This is the finish line, but also the start of a whole new race. This race is called adulthood."_

 _She pauses with a smirk. "Well, for the rest of you, anyways. Most of us, like me, are going to college. Whether it be MIT, NYU, or Columbia, our minds will be enriched and shown the path to our chosen lives and careers. There are doctors, lawyers, politicians, soldiers, and maybe even a future President in this crowd before me. We have our lives ahead of us, let's be sure to fill them to the brim."_

 _The crowd roars, and Taylor shakes the principal's hand before stepping down and strutting off stage._

"Nice speech, Taylor." Bruce grins at me.

"No big deal." I shrug. "I have been told I have a way with words."

"Why couldn't you have been around to write _my_ valedictorian speech?" he whines.

"Graduating year?"

"'89, top of my class."

I nod serenely. "Mmhmm. Wait ten years. Then I'll be born."

He huffs as we resume the memory.

 _540 name calls later…_

" _Stark, Taylor, Summa cum laude, with honors. Technical Scholarship."_

 _Taylor struts back across the stage as the crowd cheers once more. She shakes the hand of the principal, assistant principals, and a few deans before turning for a picture and trying not to stumble off stage._

" _Nice job, sweetheart." Tony leans against the convertible as Taylor practically skips out after ducking for cover during the tossing of the hats._

 _She blinks up at him after releasing the offered hug. "It's just high school."_

" _Yeah," he shrugs, "but valedictorian, summa cum laude, with honors. At_ _ **twelve**_ _."_

" _You did the same thing." she points out, climbing into the car._

 _He just shrugs again as he starts the car and cranks up the radio, letting the old rock stream through the car._

 _Taylor beams as she grabs a pen and air drums to the tune of 'We will Rock You," as Tony drives off._

" _So, you ready for MIT in the fall?"_

 _Taylor shrugs. "I guess. They're ok with virtual, right?"_

" _Right, I talked to the principal on Tuesday."_

" _I bet he wasn't happy."_

" _He_ _ **still**_ _doesn't like me," Tony whines, "and I_ _ **still**_ _have no clue why!"_

" _I think the better question here," Taylor smirks wryly, "is this: is MIT ready for another Stark?"_

 **A~A~A**

"Nice job, milady." Clint murmurs, running a hand through my hair.

"Why thank you, kind sir." I smirk at him.

"Seriously, though," Bruce's voice is almost smothered by awe, "summa cum laude, honors, _and_ the smartest kid in the grade? Do you have a one-upping problem or something?"

I shake my head. "Nope. Just brains. You did the same thing."

"Not at _twelve!_ Try _twenty!_ "

All I can do is blink at him.

.

 **The Calhoun School is a real private school in Manhattan.**

 **I do not own it. It was chosen randomly.**

 **The only thing I own is Taylor and all affiliated names and such.**


	8. Chapter 8

"This is it." I deadpan. "This is the start of…of…"

"Everything?" Clint supplies.

"Pretty much." I nod. "The birth of Iron Man, Iron Beta, the closure of the weapons department…"

"That's not for a few months, though." Natasha reminds me. "First we have to wait three months."

I nod grimly. "Let's get this over with."

 **A~A~A**

" _You will be home in time for my birthday, right?" Taylor asks from the bed, sitting next to a duffle bag as Tony packs._

" _Of course, sweetheart." Tony assures her as he digs through his closet. "The day you become a teenager? Wouldn't miss it for the world."_

"He wasn't there, was he?"

"Nope."

" _Okay. And just so you know, I'll be calling Rhodey every day. Just to make sure you don't do anything stupid."_

" _I'm a genius-"_

" _-you can't do anything stupid. Of course, what was I thinking? I meant reckless."_

" _Hey!"_

 _Taylor ducks the pillow sent her way as she slides off the bed. "Obie's in charge while you're gone?"_

" _Yeah, why?"_

" _I don't like Obie." She pouts._

 _Tony sighs and bends down to look his daughter in the eye. "Taylor, we've had this discussion before. Obie is perfectly safe, you have nothing to worry about."_

The entire rom snorts in disbelief here.

"Stupid," Clint mutters. "Tony, listen to your daughter that was amazing foresight."

" _But dad…"_

" _No buts. Now come on, I need your help checking some Jerichos."_

* * *

 _Taylor watches from an open window in a sleek, black sports car as Tony boards a jet, stopping at the top of the stairs to briefly talk with a tall, African-American man in a uniform._

" _Hi, Uncle Rhodey!" Taylor calls, waving, out the window._

" _Hey Taylor," the man calls back. "Are you excited for your birthday?"_

" _Are you kidding me? Of course I am. You'll be there, right?"_

" _Of course. And I'll make sure your dad is too."_

" _Hey!" Tony protests from the steps. "I'm not going to forget her birthday!"_

" _You forgot Christmas last year," Taylor points out, "so I'm not putting anything past you."_

" _Alright," Rhodey chuckles, "come on, Tony, we have to take off in about ten minutes. See you in a week, Taylor, be good for Obie."_

 _Taylor nods and waves again as the car window closes, as does the door to the jet._

" _He'll be okay, right Obie?" she quietly asks the driver of the car._

" _Sure he will, cupcake."_

 _Taylor scrunches a nose at the nickname but says nothing._

* * *

" _Taylor? Taylor, wake up."_

 _Taylor lifts her head off her desk and looks up at Obie. "What?"_

" _You still have half the shipment load to do." He nods at a pallet of boxes next to the desk._

" _Obie," Taylor yawns, "I've already made 50 missiles, today alone. It's really late – er, early actually – and I'm tired. Can I please go to bed?"_

" _You'll be fine." Obie assures her in a voice that clearly said there was no room for argument. "Now, get to work, I need these by dinner tonight."_

 _Taylor just watches him as he leaves the room before sliding one of the boxes onto her desk. "Jarvis, a little help?"_

 _If a computerized voice could ever sound sympathetic and angry at the same time, Jarvis did. "Of course, ma'am, I'll get Dummy, You, and Butterfingers right away."_

" _Thanks," Taylors yawns, "Just give me a hour." Before folding her arms on top of her desk and instantly falling back asleep as the bots whir and hum as they begin piecing together the missile._

"Wait, pause." Clint addresses the room. "Does that count as child abuse?"

"He never lay a hand on me." I give a small shrug.

"I don't know," Bruce answers Clint's question, ignoring me, "but still..."

"Where is this man? I will bring my wrath down upon he who mistreats the Lady of Iron!" Thor roars, and I can see his sentiment mirrored around the room, especially in Clint's eyes.

"Resume!" I call, before anyone can ask any further into it.

" _Miss Stark…Dummy, no!"_

 _Taylor wakes up as a fire extinguisher barely misses her head, suddenly wide awake as she jumps back. "Whoa, Dummy, watch it! J, what time is it?"_

" _2:30 in the morning, ma'am."_

" _Did you finish that-"_

" _Right here, ma'am."_

 _Taylor gets up to carefully inspect the finished weapon, tightening a few screws and wiping a few smudges before declaring it finished and letting the bots load it into a secure case._

" _Alright, come on boys, let's get to work." Taylor leads the bots back over to the pallet, grabbing another box and dropping it one her desk as she takes a seat and cuts open the box._

" _51 down, 49 to go."_

 **A~A~A**

The room stays silent for a while after the screen goes dark.

"How long did this happen?" Natasha asks in a soft voice, turning to me.

"Just the first week, I promise. When I found out about my dad, I essentially told Obie to stick it and left the missiles to go search for my dad."

She nods. "Good for you."

"Why would he do that?" Bruce interjects. "Why would he push you like he did?"

I give a small shrug, "He knew – or at least he hoped – that my dad wasn't coming home. So he was planning on filling me with grief and then giving me only one way to get rid of it – through work. He didn't plan on what ended up happening."

All the air is suddenly forced out of my body by Clint wrapping his arms around my waist and burying his head in my neck, and I can hear the soft moans and whimpers he's trying so hard to suppress.

I thread my fingers through his hair slowly. "It's okay, I promise. I'm here, safe, and he's dead. I promise it'll be okay…eventually…"

"But why do you have to go through hell to see the light at the end of the tunnel?"

"…I do not know, Bruce."

.

 **Okay, so this starts the Iron Man timeline.**

 **I'll be following the movie as best I can, but obviously I need to add a few lines, take away a few lines, and change a few names because I don't have Pepper here, just Taylor.**

 **Also, I just realized that I'm not following the** _ **entire**_ **movie, just Afghanistan and the aftermath.**

 **Skipping that one scene with the reporter, the award, and Tony's playboy reputation.**


	9. Chapter 9

"Can we just get this one over with? I know what's coming," I wince, "and it's not like I _wanted_ anyone to see this, ever, but Crazy Witch girl is forcing us, so can we please just not talk about it and never mention-"

"Taylor." Clint lays a hand on my knee. "We won't say a word if you do not want us to, okay?"

I nod appreciatively, and the screen starts to buzz.

 **A~A~A**

" _Hey Jarvis!" Taylor calls up to the ceiling, "It looks like our Jericho sales are rising again, we have more work ahead of us."_

" _As always, Miss Stark, as always. Would you like me to put on your workaholic playlist?"_

" _No, Jarvis, don't," another voice calls from the doorway to the living room, and Taylor spins to see Rhodey standing in his combat fatigues. "I need to visit real quick."_

" _Hey, Rhodey!" Taylor chirps in a bubbly tone. "Did you hear? Stock levels are skyrocketing, this is amazing! They rose like, 40 pints, just last night! This is great for the company, do you think Dad will let me release that new phone I've been working on now? He should, it's really cool, and now that we have risen this much we'll be able to…Rhodey?"_

 _Taylor drops off her rambling streak as she finally takes in her uncle's clenched jaw, wrinkled forehead, scrunched eyebrows, and tense shoulders, back, and posture._

" _Rhodey?" Taylor's tone is quieter now, hedged with a shadow of worry. "That's your angry face, Or your business face. That's the face you wear when someone screws up. Did I do something? I double checked the last shipment, I swear I did, did I not make enough-"_

" _No, Taylor." Rhodey calms her down, "Nobody messed up. I think."_

" _You think?"_

" _Taylor," Rhodey groans, rubbing his forehead, "you might want to sit down."_

" _What? Rhodey-"_

" _ **Sit down.**_ _"_

" _O-kaaay." Taylor looks at her uncle strangely as she hops up onto one of the barstools. "I'm sitting, now will you please explain why you are acting so…weird?"_

" _Taylor…" Rhodey starts, pauses, and then tries again. "Have you watched the news lately?"_

" _No…"_

" _Good," he nods. "Good. Avoid the news for a while, will you?"_

 _She nods hesitantly. "Rhodey, what don't you want me to see? Or hear?"_

 _Rhodey forces himself to look at his goddaughter. "Taylor, the convoy got attacked yesterday."_

" _ **The**_ _convoy, Rhodey? His convoy? Please say no."_

" _Taylor, your father was declared missing this morning."_

 _Taylor makes a strangled, animalistic sound as she grips the granite countertop of the bar with white-knuckled fingers, her eyes blown wide and her face pale. "W-what?"_

 _Rhodey sighs and leans back against the back of a couch, facing Taylor. "The convoy was bombed. My Humvee was further back, out of the way, but Tony's Humvee – he called it the 'fun-vee' - was more near the middle, where the bomb exploded. I tried to get to him, Taylor, I really did, but then a second bomb went off and by the time I got there he was gone."_

 _Taylor stays silent for a while, just staring at Rhodey, before finally croaking "Missing. You said he was missing, right?"_

" _Yes."_

" _Not dead?"_

" _As far as we know, no."_

 _She goes quiet again, seemingly thinking._

" _Who's looking for him?"_

" _The entirety of the United States Army."_

" _Let me." She blurts._

 _Rhodey blinks at her. "What?"_

" _Let me," she repeats, almost in a begging tone. "You have to let me help, at the least help me look."_

" _Taylor," he frowns, "I don't know…"_

" _I do. Please, Rhodey. My dad is missing, I have to at least try."_

" _What about the shipments you're supposed to be working on?"_

" _They can get pushed to the back burner, or I'll have R &D take a look. I'm sure the public will understand." Taylor promises, the last sentence dripping with sarcasm._

" _Okay," Rhodey sighs, "I'll look at getting you clearance."_

" _I could probably hack it anyways."_

" _Yeah, yeah." Rhodey waves a hand. "But I wouldn't do that. You're no good to your dad arrested in a Federal prison."_

" _Fine." Taylor huffs, then she looks up sharply. "You said it's already in the news?"_

 _Rhodey nods. "Vague details, yes, but no specifics."_

" _So who's going to be giving those specifics?"_

" _You?" Rhodey raises an eyebrow at Taylor._

" _Not a chance, sorry, I'll be busy here."_

" _Then who?"_

" _I'll get Obie to say something. He can't resist my puppy eyes."_

" _Nobody can." Rhodey points out._

 _Taylor just shrugs._

" _Well, I need to get back to base." Rhodey shifts his weight back to his feet. "Good luck, call me if you need anything. I'm really sorry."_

" _At least I didn't hear about it in the news."_

" _I guess."_

" _Bye, Rhodey."_

" _Bye…oh, and Taylor?"_

" _Yeah?"_

" _We_ _ **will**_ _find him."_

" _We better."_

 _Rhodey walks out and Taylor slumps into the counter. "Jarvis?"_

" _At your service, ma'am."_

" _I need you to do two things for me."_

" _Which are?"_

" _One: start counting the days that he's been missing. Two: pull up all the news reports in the world about this. I don't care how many there are. I'm also going to need maps of Afghanistan, surrounding areas, locations of major war zones, hostile areas, terrorist cells, and a map of the convoy route."_

" _Are you sure, ma'am?"_

 _Taylor nods and heads for the elevator. "Oh, quite sure, J. I will find him if it's the last thing I do."_

 **A~A~A**

"That was…intense."

"It gets worse," I warn, "much, much worse."

"And you lived through all this?"

"Barely."

"Well…that's frankly terrifying."

"And the worst part?"

"What?"

"You _didn't_ live through it."


	10. Chapter 10

"Lady Iron, how long were you searching for the Man of Iron?"

I tilt my head slightly. "Well he left in the middle of May, came back in the middle of August…so, about three months, maybe?"

"That dedication from one warrior to another is verily admirable, Lady Stark."

I blink slowly. "Uh…thanks?"

The rest of the room snickers as the screen lights up again, and I instantly tense, I know what's coming.

 **A~A~A**

 _Taylor's fingers are a blur over the keyboard as her eyes sharpen and occasionally flick left to right and back again as she reads the code that's flying over the screen._

" _Jarvis, I need you to look into a Samir Al-Hazar." she commands without looking up._

" _Ma'am, we just looked into him not five minutes ago." the AI gently reminds her._

" _Well do it again!" she insists as a computer beeps behind her. She rolls backwards in her chair, spinning around and letting her fingers find the keys as she types even faster, mumbling under her breath. "Jarvis, has the Pentagon updated it's firewalls recently?"_

" _The last update was last month, ma'am."_

" _And my last successful hack?"_

" _A month and a half ago."_

" _Hm," she hums, a small smirk growing on her face as she taps a few things on the screen, "time to change that, don't you think? Get me to the starting point."_

 _The AI stays quiet but opens the screen anyways, and Taylor instantly attacks the keyboard. "Come on, come on."_

" _Passes three firewalls out of five ma'am."_

"The Pentagon only has five firewalls?" Natasha turns to me incredulously.

"Back then, yes. In the six years since, Dad and I have worked with them to get them protection somewhere between Stark computers and their own. Easy enough to make them fun to hack for Dad and I, strong enough to prevent World War III."

"Why does it sound like hack the main center of Defense for the US is a weekend activity for you two?"

I shrug. "It is."

" _How's the search coming on Hazar?"_

" _Finished, ma'am, and I have found nothing more incriminating than a burglary attempt four years ago."_

" _Fine," she sighs, "move on. Look at the terrorist cells in that area for any relatives, friends, and such."_

" _Will do ma'am. May I suggest you eat something?"_

" _When was the last time I ate, J?"_

" _Excluding coffee, two days."_

" _But I'm not hungry!" Taylor protests, her youth shining through._

" _You never are, ma'am." Jarvis points out._

 _Taylor huffs and glares at the ceiling. "You win, alright? Just order some Chinese, I don't really care what at this point, just get Butterfingers to go get it."_

 _One of the robots beeps and buzzes off to the elevator._

" _The order is placed. Miss Stark, are you aware of the date?"_

" _No," Taylor replies, eyes still glued to one of the computers, "why?"_

" _Today is May 30_ _th_ _, ma'am. Your birthday."_

 _Taylor freezes, tapping a few more keys and leaning back in her chair while a search loads on the computer in front of her. She links her hands behind her head as she takes in the ring of humming computers, holographic maps and globes, and pictures of various government officials and Arabs. "Just how every girls wants to spend their first day as a teenager, huh J?"_

 _Jarvis doesn't reply, and Taylor's voice is much smaller as she continues. "He said he would be here. He said he wouldn't miss it for the world."_

" _I'm sure Sir would be here if it was at all possible, ma'am." Jarvis reassures her quietly._

 _Taylor just sighs and scrubs away the tears forming with the back of a hand as she walks over to a holographic display, pressing a few buttons and tapping a few items before a magazine cover pops up, the headline reading 'TONY STARK: DEAD?' in bold red letters._

" _How long has it been, Jarvis?" Taylor sighs as she studies the article._

" _Four days, ma'am, since he went missing."_

" _And they're already thinking he's dead." She sighs, closing down the hologram._

" _Ma'am," Jarvis alerts, "You have an incoming call from Mr. Stane."_

" _Ignore." Taylor decides almost instantly. "I have better things to do than to be his work horse right now."_

"… _he's threating to declare Sir dead." Jarvis reports in a quiet tone._

 _Taylor freezes, her eyes darkening._

"What? No!" Clint jumps out of his chair. "That's…did he just…that's sick! And twisted! And so…so…"

"Wrong?" I supply, pulling him back down. "Sit down, hawk. I need my pillow."

 _When the now-thirteen year old replies, her voice is shaky and desperate. "Tell him…tell him it's barely been half a week, just give me a little more time, I just need a little more…"_

" _I need you to try and calm your breathing, ma'am. I will divert Stane if you wish. Also, you would probably like to know that your food has arrived."_

" _Thanks, J, send Butterfingers up."_

 _The room goes silent for a minute before the elevator dings and Taylor gets up to retrieve the plastic bag, patting the robot on the 'head'. "Thanks, buddy. Go play with your brothers."_

 _Taylor settles back to study a map and eat her Sesame chicken. "Jarvis, who is that one dot, right there?"_

" _A pregnant women in a small village in Jordan, ma'am, I don't think she's of any interest."_

" _Right," Taylor mumbles around a mouthful of food, "a 'course not. Carry on."_

 _The room goes silent again, until "Ma'am, Colonel Rhodes is calling."_

" _You can answer that, I needed to talk to him anyways." Taylor calls as she rolls over to a blank hologram, stopping just before Rhodey's face fills the screen. "Rhodey."_

" _Taylor. You look like crap."_

" _Why thanks, that's what every girl wants to hear from her uncle on her birthday."_

" _Sorry. Happy 13_ _th_ _, by the way. You doing okay?"_

 _Taylor just shrugs. "How's your end of the search coming?"_

" _None of our leads are panning out." Rhodey sighs. "You?"_

" _Right now all I have is a four year old attempted burglary and a pregnant woman, but I'm not giving up yet. Speaking of giving up, did you know the press is already speculating about his death?"_

" _Yeah."_

 _Taylor studies her uncle for a moment. "Rhodey, what do you think?"_

" _Personally? I refuse to believe my best friend is dead after only four days as missing. Plus, he has you looking. If anyone can find a Stark…"_

" _It'll be a Stark." Taylor nods._

" _But back to the original topic: you still look like crap. Have you been eating? Don't bother lying to me, I can get Jarvis to tell the truth."_

 _Taylor just holds up the empty Chinese carton._

" _Have you been sleeping at all?"_

 _Taylor just shifts uncomfortably and glances at her feet._

" _Taylor! You said you wouldn't let this consume you!"_

" _It hasn't!" she insists. "It's been four days, Rhodey, I've done worse in the lab."_

" _I'm sure you have, but that doesn't make it healthy. Hey, I need to go, but I'll talk later, alright?"_

" _Okay. Bye."_

" _Bye. Get some sleep! In a real bed!"_

" _Yeah, yeah." Taylor rolls her eyes as the call is ended, turning back to one of the maps._

" _Jarvis?"_

" _Yes, Miss Stark?"_

" _I need you to look up this group, right here. And don't even think of trying to put me to bed, we both know it isn't going to work."_

" _Of course not, ma'am."_

 **A~A~A**

"Hey, I have a random thought." Bruce cuts in. "If these are _Tony's_ memories, why aren't we seeing Afghanistan? He had no clue this was happening,"

I shrug. "It was important to later events, I guess. I really don't know. At this point, they're looking more like Jarvis' memories, but that's not the case."

"So you did this," Natasha waves at the now dark screen, "for three months?"

"About that, yeah. Work until you collapse from exhaustion, eat every two days, and repeat the cycle."

"Remind me to look over that report I made. I might need to change a few things."

"You needed to change a few things before this all happened Tasha, but whatever."

"Please tell me this is the worst part." Clint almost begs me.

"Sort of." I shrug. "A lot of things are revealed later…you'll see."

"I have no choice otherwise."

"That you do not."


	11. Chapter 11

"How much longer until we get out?" Steve groans miserably.

I tilt my head. "Um…about a year and a half, at most two."

He just groans again. "I hate not doing anything to catch the girl."

I snort. "Join the club. And we're not even watching _your_ memories."

"Good point. Let's get this show on the road."

 **A~A~A**

 _Total Days Tony's been missing: 102_

" _Taylor, it's been over three months, you need to address-"_

 _Taylor turns around with a spark in her eyes, one nobody's seen in exactly one hundred and two days. "I don't need to_ _ **address**_ _anything, Obie! There's nothing to address! He is not dead!"_

" _Taylor, your father has spent over three moths in the Afghani desert. Put yourself in his shoes, where would you be?"_

" _This isn't about me, Obie!" Taylor insists. "This is about my dad. Who is not dead, who is going to be found, and is going to be replacing you as CEO in no time!"_

" _No he's not!" Obie roars. "You're delusional, Taylor, to an extreme extent. Your father is not coming home, he's never coming home. Give it up already! He's dead, there is nothing you can do!"_

" _I would know if he was dead!" Taylor argues. "He is not dead!"_

" _YES HE IS!" Obie roars, face purple, and Taylor shrinks slightly in fear. "He. Is. Dead. And you, Taylor Maria Stark, are a delusional baby. A child. Grow up, will you, and face the music." Obie hisses, turning and walking away, grumbling obscenities under his breath._

"That _ублюдок_." Natasha growls, descending into a string of colorful curses in multiple languages, starting in Russian then going to Swahili, Pashtu, Croatian, and even a few in German.

I just wait until she's finished to snort at her. "You done, mamma bear? Keep in mind that that's not even the worst part. Save some foreign curses for the finale."

She just grumbles and stares at the screen.

 _Taylor crosses her arms and falls back against the hallway wall, staring blankly up at the ceiling. "Am I crazy, Jarvis?"_

 _If Jarvis could have sighed, he would have. "It may seem that way to some, ma'am. Sir has been declared dead for over a month and a half, yet you are one of maybe two people to keep searching, and the only one to believe in his survival fully. Personally, I find this to be a very noble, strong trait, and refuse to believe Sir is dead. If I were human, I would be helping you search."_

" _You already are." Taylor points out softly, eyes igniting once more. "Jarvis, call a press conference. There's a few items I need to address."_

 _She pushes of the wall and walks towards the doorway, straightening her sweatshirt along the way. She pauses in the doorway, however, to look up at the ceiling. "Jarvis, you know you're more than Just A Really Very Intelligent System, right? More than a computer butler, right?"_

" _I've known that for years, ma'am."_

" _Good." Taylor nods. "Now, I need to go find some clothes."_

 _._

" _Miss Stark! What are your thoughts on your father's death?"_

" _Miss Stark! How are you grieving?"_

" _Miss Stark! Over here!"_

" _Miss Stark!"_

 _Taylor grits her teeth and ducks behind one of the bodyguards plowing through the crowd._

 _She finally gets delivered in front of the podium, bodyguards standing sentry all around. "Thank you, thank you, now how about we all settle down so we can get this show on the road? Right, you there in the red blazer."_

" _Miss Stark, what are your thoughts on your father's recent disappearance and death?"_

" _Well, Miss…"_

" _Quinn, ma'am."_

" _Well, Miss Quinn, I was upset, of course, when I found out he was missing, but how do we really know if he is, in fact, dead? Police cases have gone cold for much longer than my father has been missing, and the victims have turned up fine. And, guess what, alive. If you want my honest opinion, I think the public should not give up hope in its resources, and not jump to the wrong conclusion just because we get bored of a story. Next question, please. You there, with the blue tie."_

" _Miss Stark, how will this affect Stark Industries?"_

" _Your name, sir?"_

" _Mr. Walker, ma'am."_

" _Mr. Walker, if by 'this' you mean my father's disappearance, I can only hope that Mr. Stark will be found and returned to his post as Chief Executive Officer of the company as soon as possible. If that is not to be the case, I will have no problem heading the company with Mr. Obadiah Stane, the company's board representative. Now, you in the teal scarf."_

" _My name is Mrs. Emmett, ma'am. Do you truly believe you can run the company, only being thirteen, and for a few months at that?"_

" _Mrs. Emmett, you should really be aware by now that I am not an average teenager. If you are blind to this fact, I think you have been living under a rock for the past decade. I do believe that I am very capable of running my family's company, and have been for about a year. I should have no problems. Next, you in the fedora. Nice hat."_

" _Thank you, Miss Stark. My name is Mr. Elverson. From the sounds of things, it sound like you are trying to usurp the company. Thoughts?"_

"What?!" Steve bursts out, confused beyond belief. "That isn't what she said at all! How…"

"Welcome to modern press, Steve." I murmur lazily. "That's honestly not the worst I've seen or heard."

"It was still wrong and twisted." Steve insists. "Why can't you do anything about it?"

I shrug. "Freedom of the press and nature of the beast."

 _Taylor just frowns slightly. "Mr. Elverson, I do not want to usurp the company, merely take it over if necessary. No matter how capable I am, please keep I mind that I still have somewhat of a childhood ahead of me, and I would like to spend it was normally as is possible. I think that's all the questions for today, thank you."_

 _Taylor is immediately swarmed by bodyguards and led off stage, Obie meeting her in the hall outside the press room._

" _You were a little sharp." is the first thing Obie says upon seeing Taylor._

" _Hello to you too," she snaps back. "And can you blame me?"_

" _You could have been nicer," Obie pushes, "or maybe a little bit sadder. After all, we are dealing with your father's death."_

 _Obie turns on his heel, leaving Taylor staring after him for the second time that day before she heads off to find a bathroom._

 _Once in said bathroom, she rests her hands on the sink and faces the mirror, digging a wet wipe out of her bag and wiping off all the makeup she had been wearing._

 _The absence of concealer reveals bags and dark spots under her eyes, the removal of lip gloss shows chapped and almost cracked lips._

 _Taylor groans and puts her head in her hands, trying to quell the forming headache._

 _The quiet tune of the US Army theme song startles her, and she frantically digs in her bag for a minute before extracting her phone and answering the call. "Hey, Rhodey."_

" _Taylor!" Rhodey's voice is a lot happier than Taylor's heard in months. "Guess what?"_

" _Rhodey, I don't have time for-"_

" _Guess who we found?"_

 _She pauses. "Please tell me it is who I think it is. If not, Rhodey, you are so dead."_

" _It is! We found him yesterday! We did it!"_

" _He's alive, right?"_

" _Yes."_

" _I was right!"_

" _What?"_

" _Uh, never mind. Where are you right now?"_

" _In the air over…Europe, somewhere. Landing at Mitchell Air Force Base tomorrow afternoon."_

" _Good, good…thank god."_

" _I know. How're you doing?"_

" _I'm tired." Taylor admits, leaning against the sink. "And I just got out of a press conference. Currently the AI is my only cheerleader, him and my 'brothers'._

" _When did you last eat?"_

" _Um…"_

" _Taylor."_

" _I know, I know, I'm hurting myself, yadda, yadda, yadda. Sorry, Rhodey."_

" _I'm not the one that's going to waste away. But try and get some sleep, if you can, and do not go back to your searches tonight."_

" _Just to shut them down. I don't need to look anymore."_

" _That you do not."_

" _Tell my dad I love him."_

" _I will. See you tomorrow, Taylor-tot."_

" _Bye Uncle Rhodey."_

 _Taylor ends the call and stares at her phone for a moment, before audibly cheering. "You hear that, Jarvis?"_

" _I did indeed, ma'am. This is joyous news."_

" _It certainly is. Don't tell anyone just yet, okay?"_

" _I will keep this a secret at all costs, Miss Stark."_

" _Good…am I dreaming?"_

" _No, ma'am, you are not."_

" _Great. I was still right."_

" _And I never doubted you for a moment."_

 **A~A~A**

Everyone is silent in shock for a moment before Natasha starts cursing Obie, his name, and every part he's ever played in my life, this time in Macedonian.

"You know," Bruce speaks up when she's finished, "the Hulk and I don't usually agree on much, but right now I want to smash something, he prefers Stane as smashing material. Then we both want to go hug Tony to death."

"You can, just as soon as this is over." I pause. "Except, not the 'to death' part. I would really prefer my dad alive."

Bruce grins. "Deal."

"So…dare I ask what's next?" Steve asks cautiously.

I think about this for a minute. "Reunions. A very tearful reunion. And some of Obie's cracks starting to show. And aftermath."

"Aftermath?" Steve looks at me. "That sounds ominous."

"Well then, it lived up to expectations."


	12. Chapter 12

"Isn't it a little sad that an AI was one of your only friends for, like, three months?"

I look back at Clint and shrug slightly. "He want that bad of a friend. He's more family than butler, really. He's more of an odd mix between brother, uncle, best friend…" I frown at the ceiling. "In fact, I think he's legally one of my godfathers."

"What? How did that get passed?" Bruce furrows his brow.

"He can be a suitable guardian if it comes to that." I shrug. "He can make me eat, sleep, and take care of myself, and he can lock me out of the lab if I don't."

"Okay, true." Clint concedes, before pausing. "And a little creepy."

"Maybe." I admit. "…a little."

"See? You admit it!"

I lightly hit my boyfriend on the shoulder. "Let's get on with it, shall we?"

 **A~A~A**

 _Taylor and Happy are shown waiting by a black Rolls Royce, Taylor tapping out a range of songs on the hood with her fingertips as she leans back against the front of the car, with Happy waiting stoically by the driver's door._

" _What time are they supposed to be here again?"_

" _3 o'clock, ma'am."_

 _Taylor checks her watch nervously before going back to tapping the hood. "Are we in the right place?"_

" _Mitchell Air Force Base, ma'am."_

" _Right." she sighs, glancing around at the assembled ambulances and medical personnel before sighing again and dropping her head to her chest._

 _People shouting orders makes her glance up again, and her eyes light up at the USAF C-17 taxing towards them, and she leans slightly forward as the cargo ramp on the back of the plane slowly lowers._

 _She perks up fully as Tony is assisted down the ramp by Rhodey, hair mussed, face scratched and bruised, and with one arm held in a sling._

 _But he's alive, and Taylor is beaming._

 _Tony, of course, protests the ambulances and EMTs. "Are you kidding me with this? Get rid of them."_

 _Taylor lets out a half sob, half laugh as her dad scans the crowd for someone, a familiar face…_

" _Dad!"_

" _Taylor." He sighs in relief, bee lining towards her._

" _Your eyes are red." He notices as soon as he gets close. "Tears for your long lost dad?"_

" _Of course." she chokes, "You scared me for a while there."_

 _Taylor takes one last step forward and latches onto her dad, arms closing carefully around his waist as she cries into his non-injured shoulder, mumbling incoherent worries as Tony strokes her hair and profusely apologizes._

 _They eventually untangle and make their way towards the car, Happy helping Tony in before starting the car. "Where to, Sir?"_

 _Taylor speaks up before Tony can get a word out. "The hospital, please, Happy?"_

 _Tony huffs. "No."_

" _No?" Taylor looks at Tony in shock. "Uh, dad, you should probably-"_

 _Tony raises an eyebrow. "No is a complete answer."_

" _I'd feel better if you-"_

" _Taylor, I've been in captivity for three months. There are two things I want to do. I want an American cheeseburger, and the other..."_

" _If you say a stripper, I swear I will hurt you."_

" _...is not what you think. I want you to call for a press conference now."_

 _Taylor blink at him. "Call for a press conference?"_

" _Yeah."_

" _Um, what for?"_

 _Tony sighs. "Hogan, drive. Cheeseburger first."_

" _In that case, I want one too."_

 _._

 _The car pull up in front of Stark Industries main factory, and Obie immediately comes around and open's Tony's door, practically pulling him out and leaving Taylor to get out by herself._

" _Look at this! Tony. We were going to meet at the hospital."_

 _Tony waves him off. "No, I'm fine."_

" _Look at you!" Obie glances at the paper bag in his hand. "You had to have a burger, yeah? Well, come on. You get me one of those?"_

" _There's only one left. And it's for her." Tony tips his head towards Taylor, and a shadow crosses Obie's face before he smiles again, turning to the assembled crowd. "Hey, look who's here! Yeah!"_

 _Taylor sighs lightly and helps inside, falling in step with him and standing just behind his uninjured shoulder._

"You still do that, by the way." Clint tells me.

"I do what?"

"The behind the shoulder thing. It's a classic second-in-command thing. I think."

I shrug. "Well I'm not the leader between us, so who else will do that?"

"Point."

 _Inside, Taylor helps Tony up to the podium before migrating to the back of the room, where a slightly balding man in a suit approaches her._

The entire room freezes, and Natasha and Clint lean forward attentively in their seats. "Coulson!"

Steve turns to me, confused. "You knew him before we assembled?"

I nod, my eyes never leaving the screen. "I did. And I really wish I had hugged him or something."

Clint just runs a hand along my spine.

" _Miss Stark?"_

" _Yes?" Taylor replies, uninterested, as her eyes never leave the crowd of reporters._

 _The man raises an eyebrow. "Can I speak to you for a moment?"_

 _Taylor finally glances his way. "I'm not part of the press conference, but it's about to begin right now."_

 _The man nods. "I'm not a reporter. I'm Agent Phil Coulson, with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."_

 _Taylor raises an eyebrow and scoffs slightly. "That's quite a mouthful."_

" _I know." Coulson sighs. "We're working on it."_

 _Taylor tilts her head thoughtfully. "Try S.H.I.E.L.D."_

"That was you?!" Clint and Natasha look at me incredulously.

"Well, yeah." I blink. "Who did you think it was?"

Clint shrugs. "Nobody knows, Coulson never told us."

" _You know, we've been approached already by the DOD, the FBI, the CIA..." Taylor trails off._

" _We're a separate division with a more specific focus. We need to debrief Mr. Stark about the circumstances of his escape."_

 _Taylor studies Coulson for a moment before nodding definitively. "I'll put something in the book."_

 _Coulson nods gratefully. "Thank you." He turns to leave, but pauses about two feet away before turning back. "Oh, and Miss Stark?"_

" _Yes, Agent?"_

" _I look forward to working with you in the future. You seem to be more agreeable than your father."_

 _Taylor shrugs. "I'm just not as cynical. Yet."_

 _Coulson sucks in a breath. "I'm not going to lie to you, ma'am, the world you're about to enter is dangerous. Very much so."_

"Well that's the understatement of the year."

" _And so, would you do me a favor and keep this?" Coulson extends a small dagger towards Taylor hilt first._

 _Taylor takes the small blade, carefully inspecting it for a minute before nodding again. "Alright. Thank you."_

" _My pleasure, Miss Stark." Coulson nodes one more before slipping back into the crowd, and Taylor slips the dagger into her back pocket just as the press conference starts and Rhodey walks up._

 _Up on stage, Tony takes a seat at the base of the podium. "Hey, would it be all right if everyone sat down? Why don't you just sit down? That way you can see me, and I can... A little less formal and..."_

 _Rhodey turns to Taylor. "What's up with the love-in?"_

 _Taylor just shrugs. "Don't look at me, I have no idea what he's doing."_

 _Tony looks at Obie. "Good to see you."_

" _Good to see you too."_

 _Tony looks thoughtful. "I never got to say goodbye to dad."_

"Howard?" Steve looks puzzled. "Tony never got to say goodbye?"

"Apparently not." I shrug.

 _Tony turns back to the press. "I never got to say goodbye to my father. There's questions that I would have asked him. I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did. lf he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the newsreels. ... I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them," Taylor inhales sharply, horror spread on her face, "and protect them. And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability."_

 _A reporter waves his hands. "Mr. Stark!"_

 _Tony nods at him. "Hey, Ben."_

" _What happened over there?"_

 _Taylor looks on with interest as Tony replies. "I had my eyes opened. I came to realize that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up. And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division," Taylor pumps a fist in the air, "until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be. What direction it should take, one that I'm comfortable with and is consistent with the highest good for this country, as well."_

 _The press goes wild and Obie hustles Tony off stage and takes control of the conference as Taylor quickly hugs Rhodey and goes off to join Tony._

" _What we should take away from this is that Tony's back! And he's healthier than ever. We're going to have a little internal discussion and we'll get back to you with the follow-up."_

 _._

 _Obie enters a separate part of the factory to see Tony, alone, staring up at a full-size version of the arc reactor._

" _Well, that... That went well."_

 _Tony doesn't move. "Did I just paint a target on the back of my head?"_

" _Your head?" Obie demands. "What about my head? What do you think the over-under on the stock drop is gonna be tomorrow?"_

" _Optimistically, 40 points."_

" _At minimum." Obie agrees._

" _Yep."_

" _Tony," Obie sighs, "we're a weapons manufacturer."_

" _Obie, I just don't want a body count to be our only legacy."_

" _That's what we do. We're iron mongers. We make weapons." Obie explains as if it's the most obvious thing in the world._

" _It's my name on the side of the building." Tony points out._

" _Our name." Taylor corrects as she approaches through a side door. "And Obie, that's what we_ _ **did**_ _."_

 _Obie ignores Taylor, brushing her off like a fly. "And what we do keeps the world from falling into chaos."_

" _Not based on what I saw." Tony insists. "We're not doing a good enough job. We can do better. We're gonna do something else."_

" _Like what?" Taylor asks at the same time as Obie asks "You want us to make baby bottles?"_

 _Tony addresses both of them. "I think we should take another look into arc reactor technology."_

 _Taylor looks excited as Obie snorts. "Come on. The arc reactor, that's a publicity stunt! Tony, come on. We built that thing to shut the hippies up!"_

" _It works." Tony counters._

" _Yeah," Obie snorts again, "as a science project. The arc was never cost effective. We knew that before we built it. Arc reactor technology, that's a dead end, right?"_

 _Tony narrows his eyes mysteriously. "Maybe."_

" _Am I right?" Obie pushes. "We haven't had a breakthrough in that in what? Thirty years."_

" _That's what they say. Could you have a lousier poker face? Just tell me, who told you?"_

" _Who told him what?" Taylor asks from the side._

" _Never mind who told me." Obie waves them both off mysteriously. "Show me."_

" _It was either Rhodey or Pepper." Tony proclaims, looking at Taylor. "Which one do you think?"_

 _Taylor just stares at him, extremely confused._

 _Obie points to Tony's chest. "I want to see it."_

" _Okay, Rhodey." Tony decides, unbuttoning his shirt to reveal the reactor._

" _Wow," Taylor whispers as she steps forward, "can I touch it?"_

" _Go ahead."_

 _Her slim fingers ghost over the surface of the reactor, the blue glow adding to the wonder in her sapphire eyes._

 _Obie, on the other hand, just studies the reactor briefly before roughly batting Taylor's hand away and buttoning Tony's shirt. "Okay?"_

 _Tony looks at him oddly. "Okay? It works."_

" _Listen to me, Tony." Obie sighs. "We're a team. Do you understand? There's nothing we can't do if we stick together, like your father and I."_

"I don't like this guy." Steve declares. "He seems shifty. Is he a spy of some sort?"

I just quietly chuckle. "Something like that. Wait and see."

 _Tony sighs. "I'm sorry I didn't give you – either of you - a heads-up, okay? But if I had..."_

" _It's okay." Taylor assures him, just as Obie opens his mouth after sending Taylor a dark look, unnoticed by Tony._

" _Tony. Tony, no more of this ''ready, fire, aim'' business. You understand me?"_

 _Tony frowns. "That was Dad's line."_

 _Obie looks Tony in the eyes. "You gotta let me handle this. We're gonna have to play a whole different kind of ball now. We're going to have to take a lot of heat. I want you to promise me that you're gonna lay low."_

 _Tony nods, and Obie claps him on the back and walks away, never once acknowledging Taylor._

 _Taylor turns to Tony. "You're going to explain everything, right?"_

 _Tony nods. "Almost everything, sweetheart. Almost everything."_

 **A~A~A**

"Was anyone else feeling uncomfortable with Obie?" Bruce speaks up.

Everyone, besides me that is, nods quickly.

Clint looks at me. "He's going to explain, right?"

"Dad? Yeah…yeah, he will, soon enough. I can't wait."


	13. Chapter 13

"So what have we learned so far, class?" I ask the assembled heroes sitting around the room.

"Tony missed your birthday." Steve offers.

" _Because_ he was missing." Bruce corrects.

"You spent one hundred and two days sitting at a ring of computers and not eating." Natasha adds.

"And now Tony's home and Obie's shifty." Clit concludes.

"Okay, you're right so far. Let's watch the next part, shall we?"

 **A~A~A**

 _Tony and Taylor are shown working in the lab, rock blasting quietly._

"Well at least that's normal." Clint sighs, relieved.

"For now." I nod with a smirk.

" _So," Taylor turns around in her chair to face Tony, who's looking at diagrams of parts of something unintelligible. "You go mysteriously missing for three months, are presumed dead, show up alive, and come home with a night light implanted in your chest."_

 _Tony sighs and faces his daughter. "Well, let's start from the beginning. The convoy got attacked."_

" _I know."_

" _Innocent people died. I ended up next to a bomb…" Tony trails off, and Taylor's eyes widen in horror._

" _What you said at the press conference….it was an SI, wasn't it?"_

 _Tony nods. "The bomb exploded, and shrapnel got sent into my chest. They brought me to a cave, and there was another man. His name…his name was Yinsen, and apparently we had met before at a conference before you were born. Anyways, he was a doctor, and he made an electromagnet to keep the shrapnel away from my heart."_

 _Taylor looks confused. "Um…why were you in the cave?"_

 _Tony clenches his jaw. "They wanted a missile. I didn't want to give them anything."_

" _They?"_

" _The Ten Rings. Our 'loyal customers'."_

 _Taylor winces. "Go on."_

" _I will not go into details of what they did-"_

" _Dad-"_

" _No." Tony stares at his daughter, using the tone he seldom uses, his stern, 'parent' voice._

" _Okay." Taylor nods meekly. "So what did you do?"_

" _Instead of building a missile, I tricked them into thinking I was, but I was really building this." Tony points at his chest._

" _A miniaturized arc reactor." Taylor's eyes widen. "How'd you get out?"_

" _I built this." Tony slides one of the holograms over to Taylor, one with a diagram showing the parts of Mark I._

 _Taylor's jaw drops as she stares at the diagram. "Wow. Holy…wow. This…this is amazing! You made this from_ _ **scraps**_ _?"_

 _Tony nods proudly. "I did."_

" _Are we going to go anywhere with this?" Taylor tilts her head._

" _Maybe." Tony murmurs vaguely. "But, ah, first…how big are your hands?"_

 _Taylor holds up a nimble hand, fingers splayed. "Small, I guess. Why?"_

" _I need you to help me change this out." Tony starts unbuttoning his shirt._

" _Change the thing keeping you alive?" Taylor rolls over, her eyebrows raised. "With what?"_

" _We're changing out this," Tony motions towards the old reactor, "an antique, with this." He hands Taylor the new reactor, and she studies it with reverence. "And my hands are too big to do so. Plus, there's a little snag."_

" _What do I need to do?"_

 _Tony pulls the old reactor out. "There's an exposed wire under this device. And it's contacting the socket wall and causing a little bit of a short." At Taylor's worried look, he rushes to finish. "It's' fine. Put this over there."_

 _Taylor still looks worried, but she takes the reactor and sets in on her desk, behind them._

" _No, I want you to reach in, and you're just gonna gently lift the wire out."_

 _Taylor rolls back over, but hesitates. "Um, is this safe?"_

" _Yeah, it should be fine. It's' like Operation. You just don't let it touch the socket wall or it goes 'beep'."_

 _Taylor stares at him incredulously. "Should be? Dad, I never played Operation!"_

" _Um…yeah, never mind. Just gently lift the wire, okay?"_

 _Taylor reaches her fingers into the cavity in his chest, but hesitates again. "Um, shouldn't we get a doctor to do this?"_

 _Tony sighs. "Taylor, look at me."_

 _Taylor looks up._

" _You'll do fine, okay? Don't second guess yourself. You're the most capable and trustworthy person I know. Besides, if I can't trust you, who can I trust?"_

 _Taylor looks considerate. "Okay, I guess."_

" _Now, I'm kind of in a jam here…"_

" _Right." Taylor sticks her hand fully into the cavity. "Uh, is this pus?"_

 _Tony shakes his head slightly. "It's not. It's' an inorganic plasmic discharge from the device, not from my body."_

 _Taylor screws up her face. "Well, it smells."_

" _Yeah, it does. The copper wire. The copper wire, you got it?"_

" _Yeah."_

" _Okay, now, don't let it touch the sides... argh!" He flinches as some of the monitors beep frantically, "when you're coming out!"_

 _Taylor whimpers. "Um, sorry?"_

" _That's what I was trying to tell you before. Okay, now make sure that when you pull it out, you don't... There's a magnet at the end of it!"_

 _Taylor pulls the magnet out and raises an eyebrow at her dad._

" _That was it. You just pulled it out."_

" _No duh."_

" _Okay, I was not expecting... Don't put it back in! Don't put it back in!"_

" _Okay, what now?" Taylor glances at the shrieking alarms. "Dad!"_

" _No big deal, I'm just going into cardiac arrest 'cause you yanked it out like a trout..."_

 _Taylor stares at her dad. "You said this was safe!"_

" _We gotta hurry. Take this. Take this." He hands Taylor the new reactor. "You gotta switch it out really quick."_

 _Taylor begins inserting the reactor. "Okay, alright." She pauses. "Dad?"_

" _Yeah, sweetheart?"_

" _Is it going to be okay? Are…are_ _ **we**_ _going to be okay?"_

 _Tony looks at his daughter. "We should be._ _Okay, you're gonna attach that to the base plate. Make sure you..."_

 _Taylor clicks the reactor in place and leans back with a relieved sigh._

" _Was that so hard? That was fun, right? Here, I got it. I got it. Here. Nice."_

" _How you doing?"_

 _Tony laughs lightly. "Yeah, I feel great. You okay?"_

" _Yeah." Taylor rubs her face. "I need to learn how to do that properly. With a little less false security."_

 _Tony nods. "You should. I don't have anyone else."_

 _Taylor reaches behind her and holds the old reactor. "What do you want me to do with this?"_

 _Tony shrugs. "I don't care. Throw it away, study it, scrap it…"_

" _Don't you want it?"_

" _Taylor, I've been called many things, but nostalgic is not one of those."_

 _Taylor shrugs and slips the reactor into one of her desk drawers._

 _._

 _The memory switches to show Rhodey standing in front of a bunch of cadets._

" _The future of air combat. Is it manned or unmanned? I'll tell you, in my experience, no unmanned aerial vehicle will ever trump a pilot's instinct, his insight, that ability to look into a situation beyond the obvious and discern its outcome, or a pilot's judgment."_

"This is a creepily ironic conversation." Clint points out.

"Foreshadowing." Bruce agrees with a nod.

" _Colonel? Why not a pilot without the plane?"_

"Foreshadowing indeed." Steve agrees.

 _Tony and Taylor walk in, with Taylor looking much healthier and brighter._

" _Speaking of manned or unmanned, you gotta get him to tell you about the time he guessed wrong at spring break. Just remember that, spring break, 1987. That lovely lady you woke up with."_

 _Rhodey groans. "Don't do that."_

 _Taylor smirks. "What was his name?"_

" _Both of you. Don't do that."_

 _Tony snickers. "Was it Ivan?"_

" _Don't do that. They'll believe it. Don't do that."_

" _Okay then."_

" _Don't do that."_

 _Taylor turns to the cadets. "Pleasure to meet you."_

 _Rhodey looks at the cadets. "Give us a couple minutes, you guys." He turns back to Taylor. "Well, you're looking better."_

 _Taylor nods shyly. "I ate this morning. And slept in a bed last night."_

 _Tony looks between them, confused. "What?"_

 _Rhodey sighs as Taylor suddenly looks very interested in her shoes. "Guess what this numbskull was doing while you were…away?"_

 _Tony looks suspicious. "What?"_

" _Not sleeping, barely eating, pale, bags under her eyes…"_

 _Tony turns to her daughter, eyebrows raised. "Something you're not telling me?"_

" _Um…" she stutters. "No, nope, p-pretty sure Rhodey covered it all…"_

 _Rhodey raises an eyebrow. "I didn't cover the part about Obie yet."_

 _Panic explodes in Taylor's eyes. "And you don't need to!" she hisses quietly. "That was resolved."_

"It was?" Steve looks at me. "It didn't seem like it was."

I shake my head. "It wasn't. But my dad still trusted Obie, so…"

" _Anyways," Rhodey turns back to Tony. "I'm surprised."_

" _Why?"_

 _Tony shifts his weight from foot to foot. "I'm doing a little better than walking."_

" _ **We**_ _are." Taylor corrects._

" _Really?"_

 _They both nod. "Yeah. Rhodey, we're working on something big. I came to talk to you."_

" _We want you to be a part of it." Taylor explains._

 _Rhodey grins. "You're about to make a whole lot of people around here real happy, 'cause that little stunt at the press conference, that was a doozy."_

 _Taylor clears her throat. "Yeah, that still stands."_

 _Tony coughs awkwardly. "This... is not for the military. I'm not... it's different."_

 _Rhodey raises an eyebrow. "What? You're a humanitarian now or something?"_

 _They both sigh, and Taylor looks up at Rhodey, almost pleading. "You need to listen to us."_

 _Rhodey shakes his head. "No. What you two need is time to get your minds right. I'm serious. Both of you."_

 _Tony and Taylor glance at each other, looking unconvinced. "Okay."_

" _It's nice seeing you, Tony. You too, Taylor."_

" _Thanks." The chorus, turning to walk back to the car._

 _Tony looks at Taylor. "Three months."_

 _Taylor nods, keeping her eyes on her shoes. "One hundred and two days."_

" _Why?"_

" _I had to find you," Taylor whispers._

 _Tony shakes his head. "Taylor, I had the entire military looking for me, you didn't need to. Why?"_

" _I needed…" Taylor sighs. "I needed to help, maybe I would see something they missed, maybe…"_

" _Okay, I get that." Tony nods. "But working yourself to collapse?"_

" _You do the same thing!"_

" _For a week, maybe, not as long as you did!" Tony raises his voice slightly, and Taylor ducks her head._

" _I'm sorry…"_

 _Tony sighs and runs a hand through his hair, working to lower his voice. "I didn't mean to yell. But, if there's a next time, I need you to promise me you'll take care of yourself first."_

 _Taylor nodes silently._

" _Good. Now come on, I want to show you a new project."_

 **A~A~A**

"Does Rhodey still trust you two?" Clint looks at me, worried.

"Yeah," I nod, "he's just trying to look out for us. If your best friend spent that long in captivity, wouldn't you do the same?"

Clint blinks at me. "No."

I snort. "Well not _you_ , you and Tasha hate shrinks. What about you Bruce?"

"Probably, if I couldn't treat them myself."

I nod, satisfied. "See? Proof."

Clint shrugs. "I guess. So he's on your side?"

"Yes."

"Good. You need him."


	14. Chapter 14

"When do we find out the truth about Obie?" Clint whines from next to me.

"Soon. I think. But you'll see hints here and there."

 **A~A~A**

 _Tony and Taylor are shown in the lab, each working on their own separate armor diagrams._

" _Jarvis," Tony calls, "create two new project files. Name mine Mark II and Taylor's…um…"_

" _Go with 2012-TMS for now." Taylor suggests. "Until we know if mine really works or I'm just running in circles."_

" _Got it." Tony nods._

" _Shall I store this on the Stark Industries' Central Database?"_

 _Tony glances at Taylor, and she shakes her head. "Actually, I don't know who to trust right now. 'Till further notice, why don't we just keep everything on my private server?"_

 _Tony pulls up a picture of his armor and begins dissecting it._

" _So, working on a secret project now, are we?" Taylor asks from her desk, where she's hammering some metal into shape._

" _For now." Tony nods, agreeing. "I don't want these ending up in the wrong hands."_

" _Yeah." Taylor sighs. "Maybe we can do some good for once."_

* * *

 _Tony is now shown wearing one of the boot pieces, talking to Dummy, while Taylor worked on her head piece._

" _Next. Up. Not in the boot, Dummy. Right here. You got me? Stay put. Nice. You're of no benefit at all. Move down to the toe. I got this. Okay, I'm sorry, am I in your way? Up. Screw it. Don't even move. You are a tragedy."_

 _Taylor just snickers in the background and tells Butterfingers to hand over the Allen wrench._

 _Taylor is shown holding a camera and standing next to Dummy, who is holding a fire extinguisher, and both are watching Tony, who has the boots on and is holding the hand controls._

" _Ready for the first flight test, Taylor?"_

" _Ready!"_

" _Okay, let's do this right. Start mark, half a meter, and back and center. Dummy, look alive, you're on standby for fire safety. Taylor, you're filming it. Okay. Activate hand controls. We're gonna start off nice and easy. We're gonna see if 10% thrust capacity achieves lift. And three, two, one…"_

 _Tony is launched up, into the ceiling and to the side and into a wall before finally sliding to the ground._

 _Taylor sighs and sets down the camera. "Are you okay?"_

" _Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Tony groans as he sits up and brushes off his clothes._

* * *

 _Tony and Taylor are shown once again staring at 3D holograms, with Tony trying on a simulation arm and Taylor doing the same next to him with a leg._

" _Alright, up two. Set that." Tony commands._

" _Jarvis, the left side is a little loose. Tighten it…5 degrees…there we go. Keep it."_

 _Jarvis suddenly speaks up. "Sir, ma'am, Mr. Stane is upstairs."_

 _Taylor tenses slightly, and Tony looks at her oddly. She just shakes her head and goes back to the leg._

" _That's great J." Tony calls distractedly._

" _What would you like me to tell him, sir?"_

" _Tell him I'll be right up. Coming, Taylor?"_

 _Taylor nods, biting her lip and not looking at Tony. "Yeah. Jarvis, release."_

 _Taylor slides her leg out of the metal framing and stands, pasting a smile on her face as she follows her dad upstairs._

" _Hey, Obie, how did it go?" Tony asks once they enter the living room, Taylor sitting on a barstool to discreetly keep an eye on Obie while Tony plops onto the couch. Tony glances at the pizza box in his hand. "It went that bad, huh?"_

" _Just because I brought pizza back from New York does not mean it went bad." Obie protests._

" _It kind of does." Taylor points out._

" _It would have been better had you been there." Obie admits. "Either of you, I suppose."_

" _You told us to law low." Tony counters._

" _And that's what we have been doing." Taylor agrees. "Laying low while you take care of," she waves a hand vaguely, "all of that."_

" _Hey, come on. In public. The press. This was a board of directors meeting."_

 _Taylor frowns. "We're just doing what you told-"_

 _Tony cuts her off. "This was a board of directors meeting?"_

 _Obie nods. "The board is claiming the two of you have post-traumatic stress. They're filing an injunction."_

"Pause." Steve turns to me. "Uh, a question. What's an injunction?"

"Basically a movement to make whatever my dad and I say null and void, with no legal backing. Shoving us out of the company a bit."

Natasha snarls and growls at the screen.

 _Taylor lurches forward and clutches the bar to keep from falling off the barstool. "A what now?"_

" _They want to lock you out." Obie explains slowly, as if to a child._

 _Tony scoffs. "Why, 'cause the stocks dipped 40 points? We knew that was gonna happen."_

" _Um, it was fifty-six and a half, actually." Taylor corrects. "But still."_

" _It doesn't matter." Tony insists, while Taylor points out "We own the controlling interest in the company."_

" _Tony, the board has rights, too. They're making the case that you and your new direction isn't in the company's best interest."_

 _Taylor growls softly at Obie while Tony looks annoyed. "We're being responsible! That's a new direction... for me…us... for the company. I mean, us on the company's behalf, being responsible for the way that..." he sighs, throwing his arms up dramatically. "This is great!"_

 _Obie looks exasperated. "Oh, come on. Tony. Tony."_

 _Taylor gets up to step between Tony and Obie. "We'll be in the shop."_

 _Obie glares at her, grabbing her shoulder to move her roughly out of the way. Tony just stares at the two of them, dumbfounded._

" _Obie, what-"_

" _Hey, hey! Hey, Tony. Listen. I'm trying to turn this thing around, but you gotta give me something. Something to pitch them." He points at Tony's chest piece. "Let me have the engineers analyze that. You know, draw up some specs."_

 _Tony crosses his arms over his chest. "No, absolutely not. No."_

" _It'll give me a bone to throw the boys in New York!"_

 _Taylor butts in, still rubbing her shoulder slightly. "This one stays with us. That's it, Obie. Forget it."_

 _Obie glares at Taylor, grabbing the pizza box off the table. "This stay with me then. Go on, here, you can have a piece. Take two."_

" _Thank you."_

" _Taylor you want one?" Obie asks, curtly, purely to be polite._

" _No, thank you." Taylor response is just as curt._

" _You guys mind if I come down there and see what you're doing?"_

" _Good night, Obie."_

 **A~A~A**

Steve frowns. "The way Tony looked when Stane grabbed your shoulder…is he finally thinking something isn't right?"

I nod. "A lot more is going to be revealed soon."

Bruce cocks his head. "What was that about seeing if your suit really worked or not?"

I laugh softly. "My suits were originally just a product of curiosity, a bit of just a science project. Once we see that they work – and I think that might be the next scene – that's when we started getting serious."

He frowns. "And if they hadn't worked?"

I shrug. "Then Iron Beta would never have been created and I'd be more of an assistant, a handler."

"Well then, I'm glad it worked."

"Yeah," Clint interrupts, "you can't fill out paperwork to save your life."

I smack him on the shoulder with an amused huff. Hey!"

"Yes, your handwriting is _that_ bad."


	15. Chapter 15

"Do we get to see any action yet?" Clint whines.

I pat him on the head patronizingly. "Hold your horses, birdbrain, action's coming soon enough. Just more testing first."

He groans as I peck him on the cheek. "It's not that bad."

 **A~A~A**

 _Taylor is shown with all-silver parts of the armor on and hand controls in her hands. "Please tell me we're going with less power this time."_

" _Yeah." Tony shifts the camera in his hand. "Ready?"_

" _As I'll ever be. Let's do this."_

" _Okay. Day 11, test 37, configuration 2.0. For lack of a better option, Dummy is still on fire safety. lf you douse something that isn't on fire, I'm donating you to a city college."_

 _Dummy beeps meekly._

" _All right, nice and easy. Seriously, Taylor, you're just gonna start off with 1% thrust capacity. And three, two, one…"_

 _Taylor flicks a few switches, lifting off a few feet into the air before being set back down again._

 _She pump a steel braced fist into the air. "Yeah!" She turns to Dummy, who's tailing her closely with the fire extinguisher. "Okay, seriously, don't follow me around with that, I feel like I'm going to spontaneously catch on fire. Just stand down! lf something happens, then come in."_

" _Alright!" Tony calls. "Let's do it again. This time bring it up to 2.5. Three, two, one."_

 _Taylor hovers higher this time and begins floating towards Tony's sports cars. "Okay, this is where I don't want to be! Not the car, not the car! Yikes! Table!"_

 _Taylor fumbles with the hand controls for a minute, eventually ending up back where she started._

 _She stands stock still for a moment, studying her feet, before looking up at her dad with awe in her eyes and voice. "I can fly."_

* * *

 _The memory changes to show robots putting all-silver versions of the Iron Man armors on both of them._

" _Jarvis, are you there?" Tony calls out as his torso gets covered._

" _At your service, Sir, ma'am."_

" _Engage Heads Up Display." Tony orders._

" _Check."_

" _Import all preferences from home interface." Taylor calls over._

" _Will do, ma'am."_

 _The memory switches to look like the inside of the helmets as Tony looks around the workshop using the holoscreens Jarvis showing details of every object as it is seen._

"Well that's cool." Clint says simply. "That's how you see the world?"

"Yep. Pretty cool, isn't it?"

 _Taylor's face pops up in the corner of the screen. "This is so cool! All right, what do you say?"_

" _I have indeed been uploaded. We're online and ready."_

 _Both give a small cheer._

" _Can we start the virtual walk-around?" Tony tips his head slightly._

" _Importing preferences and calibrating virtual environment."_

" _Do a check on control surfaces." Taylor commands._

" _As you wish." Jarvis moves and tests all the joints and hinges of the suits. "Test complete. Preparing to power down and begin diagnostics."_

" _Err, yeah." Tony looks at Taylor on the holoscreen. "Hey, you want to take a test drive?"_

" _You bet I do! Jarvis, do a weather and ATC check. Start listening in on ground control."_

" _Sir, ma'am, there are still terabytes of calculations needed before an actual flight is-" Jarvis starts to protest, but Tony cuts him off._

" _Jarvis! Sometimes you got to run before you can walk!"_

" _I have no idea what that means, but I'm still in!"_

" _Ready? In three, two, one."_

 _Tony and Taylor both fire up their suits, taking off up the car ramp with Tony in the lead and Taylor following soon after._

" _This is awesome!" Taylor laughs as she chases her dad around the sky._

" _Handles like a dream." Tony comments, a spark showing in his eyes. "Does anyone know what SR-71's record is?"_

" _The altitude record for fixed wing flight is 85,000 feet, sir."_

" _Does this count as fixed wing?" Taylor wonders. "I mean, we don't have wings…"_

" _I don't know, good point…" Tony pauses. "But records are made to be broken! Come on!"_

 _Tony rockets up, Taylor following a few feet behind._

" _Dad-"_

" _Sir, there is a potentially fatal buildup of ice occurring."_

" _Keep going! Higher!"_

 _Ice starts to form on Tony's armor, and he starts to fall._

 _Taylor, a few feet lower than her dad and therefore less iced, immediately dives to a safer level and watches her dad fall, ready to swoop in if need be._

" _Arrgghh!" Tony groans, "We iced up, Jarvis... Deploy flaps! Jarvis! Come on, we got to break the ice!"_

 _Jarvis doesn't respond, so Tony reaches for the manual releases and deploys the flaps himself, shattering the ice and brining Jarvis back online._

" _Dad, you're about to go splat! Pull up!"_

 _Tony flips and just barely misses the ground, rocketing back up and heading home._

 _Once over the roof of the house, Taylor and Tony hover for a minute._

" _Kill power."_

 _They both plummet and fall through the roof, Tony falling onto a piano in the living room and Taylor a TV, both falling through the living room floor and onto cars below._

 _Where Dummy is waiting to spray them both with the fire extinguisher._

" _Dummy, stop." Tony groans as he reaches up to flip open his face mask. "Taylor, are you okay?"_

 _Taylor groans as she pulls herself up next to him. "Sore. Incredibly sore, but fine."_

* * *

 _Tony and Taylor are shown limping through the workshop; Tony with an ice pack resting against his head, Taylor with one on her ribs._

 _Tony stops when he spots a brown paper wrapped package sitting on his desk. He ever so cautiously unwarps it to reveal the first reactor, the one he told Taylor to destroy, in a glass box and engraved with the words 'Proof Tony Stark has (Somewhat) of a Heart'._

 _He looks up at Taylor who has her feet kicked up on her desk and looks to be studying the holograms in front of her, but Tony knows better._

" _Why didn't you keep this? To study or something?"_

 _She shrugs. "You need it more."_

 **A~A~A**

"Aww, sentiment." Clint coos, earning a soft elbow in the ribs. "Ow! But that was still cute."

I just shrug. "Well, hey, we know the suit's working. This was essentially when Iron Beta, not yet named, was locked into existence."

"When did you get the cool paint jobs?" Bruce asks curiously.

I tilt my head thoughtfully. "Um…next memory, I think…at least, that's when we decide on colors."

"Cool." Bruce nods. "Looking forward to seeing your thought process there."

I blink, surprised. "There wasn't much thought on my dad's side, just structural integrity and a car."

"Now I'm even more curious."

"Alrighty then. Whatever float your boat."


	16. Chapter 16

"Hey, we didn't see Obie last memory." Bruce comments. "What's he up to?"

"…stuff," is all I can say. "You'll see in this one."

"Is this when we finally find out what he's doing?" Steve asks, looking excited.

I just nod and motion towards the screen.

 **A~A~A**

 _Tony and Taylor are shown looking at several models, charts, and graphs with the specifics for the suits shown on them._

" _Notes. Main transducer feels sluggish at plus 40 altitude. Hull pressurization is problematic. I'm thinking icing is the probable factor."_

" _A very astute observation, Sir."_

" _Maybe," Taylor calls over, "if we intend to visit other planets, we should improve the exosystems."_

" _Right away, ma'am."_

" _Connect to the sys. co. Have it reconfigure the shell metals. Use…um…?"_

 _Taylor speaks up. "The gold titanium alloy from the seraphim tactical satellite. That should ensure a fuselage integrity while maintaining power-to-weight ratio."_

 _Tony nods, his mouth forming an 'oh'. "Got it, J?"_

" _Yes. Shall I render using proposed specifications?"_

 _Tony glances at Taylor, who just grins mysteriously. "Thrill us."_

 _Jarvis gets to work on the suits while the TV catches Tony and Taylor's attention, a reporter on screen._

" _Tonight's red-hot red carpet is right here at the Disney Concert Hall, where Tony Stark's third annual benefit has become the place to be for L.A.'s high society."_

 _Taylor leans back to look at her dad. "Did we get invited to that?"_

 _Tony shakes his head. "I don't think so…"_

" _...hasn't been seen in public since his bizarre and highly controversial press conference. Some claim he and his daughter are suffering from posttraumatic stress and have been bedridden for weeks. Whatever the case may be, no one expects an appearance from either of them tonight."_

 _Jarvis cuts in, reporting "The render is complete."_

 _Taylor glances at the screen. "A little ostentatious, don't you think?"_

" _I do." Tony glances around the room, his eyes landing on a dark red hot rod in the corner. "Tell you what. Throw a little hot-rod red in there."_

" _Yes," Jarvis deadpans, "that should help you keep a low profile. Ma'am, your colors?"_

 _Taylor leans back in her chair, propping her feet up on her desk as she taps a pen against her chin. "Hmmm…I'll go a little more edgy. Base coat black. And…um…" she glances at the sleeve of her hoodie. "Purple. Black and purple, if you would Jarvis."_

" _The render is complete."_

 _Tony looks at the red and gold suit and then over at Taylor's black and purple sleek design. "Well don't you look dangerous."_

" _And you look like a muscle car." Taylor smirks at her dad._

" _Hey, I like it." Tony defends. "Paint it. Fabricate them."_

" _Commencing automated assembly. Estimated completion time is five hours."_

 _Tony and Taylor glance at each other, then the TV screen still showing footage of the party. "Don't wait up for us."_

* * *

 _Tony is shown driving quickly through traffic in his Audi, STARK 4, while Taylor fixes her tie and straighten her vest in the passenger seat._

 _They pull up at the Disney conference hall, Tony leading Taylor - who is dressed in a long sleeved white dress shirt, black slacks, sparkly black boots, an unbuttoned black vest and thin black tie – down the red carpet, towards where Obie is talking to a crowd of reporters._

" _... Weapons manufacturing is only one small part of what Stark Industries is all about, and our partnership with the fire and rescue community..." Obie trails off as he's distracted by the reports shouting Tony and Taylor's names._

 _A woman steps forward. "Tony, remember me?"_

 _Tony waves her off. "Sure don't." He taps a man with slicked back grey hair and yellow-tinted aviator glasses on the shoulder. "You look great, Hef."_

 _Obie turns back to the reporters. "We're going to have a great quarter."_

" _What's the world coming to when a guy's got to crash his own party?" Tony walks up, and Taylor follows up with "Honestly, it's sad."_

 _Obie grins. "Look at you two. Hey, what a surprise."_

" _We'll see you inside."_

 _Obie leans in to whisper to Tony. "Hey. Listen, take it slow, all right? I think I got the board right where we want them."_

" _Don't worry, Obie." Taylor reassures him as she follows Tony inside. "Just cabin fever. It'll just be a minute."_

 _Tony, once inside, immediately steps up to the bar. "Get me a scotch, I'm starving."_

 _Taylor just rolls her eyes and disappears into the crowd as Agent Coulson walks up to Tony._

" _Mr. Stark?"_

" _Yeah?"_

" _Agent Coulson."_

 _Tony blinks. "Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. The guy from the..."_

" _Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division." Coulson sighs._

" _God, you need a new name for that."_

" _Yeah, your daughter said the same thing. Listen, I know this must be a trying time for you, but we need to debrief you. There's still a lot of unanswered questions, and time can be a factor with these things."_

 _Tony looks over Coulson's shoulder at Obie talking to Taylor, who looks distinctly uncomfortable and is trying to actively back away without looking impolite. "Let's just put something on the books."_

" _How about the 24th at 7:00pm at Stark Industries?"_

 _Tony glances at Coulson. "Tell you what. You got it. You're absolutely right. Well, I'm going to go talk to Taylor, and we'll make a date."_

 _He walks over to Taylor and Obie. "Is everything okay over here?"_

 _Obie instantly straightens up and smiles. "Yeah, of course Tony. Everything's fine."_

 _Tony looks at his daughter. "Taylor?"_

" _Yeah, dad, like Obie said, everything's fine…"_

 _Tony puts a hand on her shoulder. "You need some air. Go on."_

 _Taylor heads towards the stairs as Tony nods to Obie and follows._

 _He quickly joins her on the roof, where Taylor is looking out towards the city. "What was that about?"_

" _Nothing, dad."_

" _It is not 'nothing'. You've been acting weird around him since I got back. Come on, Taylor, what's going on?"_

 _Taylor stays silent, not looking at him._

" _You can tell me, Taylor, I promise I won't get mad."_

" _You promise?"_

" _I do."_

" _Fine." Taylor sighs and turns around. "When you were…gone…Obie…remember that shipment that was supposed to go out a week after you came back?"_

" _Yeah, I gave it to R &D to handle."_

 _Taylor shakes her head. "Obie didn't. Guess who was making 200 missiles in about a week?"_

" _You didn't."_

" _Did I have a choice?"_

" _Did you get any sleep?"_

" _Didn't have any time." She shrugs. "And you weren't there to see anything."_

 _Tony clenches his jaw. "How dare he…you…I'm going to go-"_

" _Dad, no." Taylor puts a hand on his arm, and Tony relaxes slightly. "Don't, please, you need Obie in the company."_

" _Not as bad as I need you safe!"_

" _Daddy, please." Taylor pleads._

" _Fine." Tony relaxes, but Taylor doesn't move her hand. "Want to go back downstairs?"_

" _Sure."_

* * *

 _Tony walks back up to the bar, Taylor trailing not far behind. "Get me a vodka martini, extra dry, extra olives, extra fast. Dirty."_

" _And a Sprite, if you have that. Please." Taylor hops up next to her dad._

"Well it looks like Phil was right about you being agreeable."

"Sometimes." I shrug. "Someone has to."

 _She looks over his shoulder. "Dad, random woman from earlier approaching."_

 _Tony quickly spins around just as the female reporter reaches him._

" _Wow. Tony Stark. Fancy seeing you here."_

 _Tony tilts his head. "Carrie?"_

" _Christine."_

" _Right."_

" _You have a lot of nerve showing up here tonight. Can I at least get a reaction from you?"_

" _Panic." Taylor supplies. "I would say panic is the reaction you're looking for."_

" _'Cause I was referring to your company's involvement in this latest atrocity."_

 _Tony shrugs. "Yeah. They just put our names on the invitations. I don't know what to tell you."_

 _Christine glares at him. "I actually almost bought it, hook, line and sinker."_

" _I was out of town," Taylor snorts softly, "for a couple months, in case you didn't hear."_

" _Is this what you call accountability?"_

 _Taylor looks over Tony's shoulder at the pictures she hands him, pictures of Stark Industries weapons – including the Jericho and the Sherman - being used by the Ten Rings to attack civilians._

" _It's a town called Gulmira. Heard of it?"_

 _Tony's eyes harden. "When were these taken?"_

" _Yesterday."_

" _I didn't approve any shipment." Tony glances back at his daughter. "Taylor?"_

 _She shakes her head. "No, I didn't."_

" _Well, your company did."_

 _Tony and Taylor glance at each other. "Well, we're not our company."_

* * *

 _Taylor, Tony, and Obie are shown on the red carpet outside._

 _Obie pushes away a camera. "Do you mind?"_

" _Have you seen these pictures? What's going on in Gulmira?"_

 _Obie shakes his head. "Tony, Tony. You can't afford to be this naive."_

" _You know what? I was naive before, when they said, "Here's the line. We don't cross it. This is how we do business." lf we're double-dealing under the table..."_

 _Taylor steps up, eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Are we?"_

 _A reporter suddenly shouts. "Taylor, Taylor, you picture please!"_

" _Let's take a picture. Come on. Picture time!"_

 _Obie throws an arms around Tony's shoulder and rests his other hand on Taylor's shoulder, ducking his head to whisper to them both._

" _Tony, Taylor. Who do you think locked you out? I was the one who filed the injunction against you two. It's was the only way I could protect you."_

 _Obie walks way, leaving both Starks staring after him in shock. Taylor wavers on her feet and Tony grabs her collar to keep her upright. They share a glance of fear and betrayal._

 **A~A~A**

"That…that…he…what…"

Clint's barely comprehensible, so I pull him back into his chair before he hurts himself, then I look around the room.

Natasha is glaring at the screen and cursing again in obscure languages, Steve looks horrified and confused all at the same time, Bruce has his fists clenched and he looks like actually approves smashing people for once – namely Obie, and Thor has his fist clenching and unclench on his belt, where he normally keeps Mjolnir.

I just sigh and run a hand through my hair and try to contain the oncoming headache.

This was bad enough the first time.

Also, I call first shot at Crazy Witch girl.


	17. Chapter 17

I prop my elbows on my knees, resting my face in my hands as I lean forward and squeeze my eyes shut, lacing my fingers into my hair.

I remember this particular memory; the beginning is brutal, the middle is violent, and the end was terrifying.

I groan softly, but nobody in the room says or does anything more than lay a hand on my back (Clint). They know by now that these memories are complicated, messy, and painful for those involved.

And the final throw down still hasn't arrived.

 **A~A~A**

 _Tony and Taylor are shown standing in the workshop, their eyes fixed on the TV. Tony is wearing a red and gold arm piece and Taylor is by his side, her leg covered in black and purple up to the knee._

 _The TV is showing footage of a small village, people crying and buildings burnt and half torn apart as a reporter dictates from the scene._

" _The 15 mile hike to the outskirts of Gulmira can only be described as a descent into hell, into a modern day Heart of Darkness. Simple farmers and herders from peaceful villages have been driven from their homes, displaced from their lands by warlords emboldened by a new-found power. Villagers have been forced to take shelter in whatever crude dwellings they can find in the ruins of other villages, or here in the remnants of an old Soviet smelting plant. Recent violence has been attributed to a group of foreign fighters referred to by locals as the Ten Rings."_

 _Tony's eyes darken and Taylor's eyes spark._

" _As you can see, these men are heavily armed and on a mission. A mission that could prove fatal to anyone who stands in their way. With no political will or international pressure, there's very little hope for these refugees."_

 _Tony stands and throws his screwdriver down, aims the gauntlet, and fires a repulsor at the wall as Taylor stands stiffly and kicks her chair away, sending it flipping into the wall._

" _Around me, a woman begging for news on her husband, who was kidnapped by insurgents, either forced to join their militia... Desperate refugees clutch yellowed photographs, holding them up to anyone who will stop. A child's simple question, "Where are my mother and father?" There's very little hope for these refugees, refugees who can only wonder who, if anyone, will help."_

 _Tony walks forward, spins around, and sees himself in the glass door to the workshop, firing the repulsor three times until all his reflections are shattered._

 _Taylor turns and, with a loud, dark, growl, kicks a jagged hole in the steel siding of her desk._

* * *

 _Tony and Taylor are standing about five feet away from each other as the floor opens up at their feet and robots begin assembling the suits as they step into their respective boots._

 _They're fully suited in less than a minute, vengeance held in their tense metal shoulders and lit up eyes._

" _Ready?"_

" _Ready."_

* * *

 _Iron Man is shown speeding across the sky, the sands below him a blur and a smaller figure keeping pace just behind and above him._

* * *

 _Terrified villagers run screaming as their houses are blown up using Stark Industries weapons, including the Sherman and the Jericho._

 _One man, Abu Bakaar, shouts orders to the others._

" _Put the women in the trucks. Stack the weapons here. Clear all the houses. That one there. Faster. Faster."_

 _A family, a father, mother, and their children, are dragged from a house._

" _Grab that dog. Put him with the others."_

 _The father is pulled away from his wife and children, dragged towards a separate truck. His son breaks free and runs towards him, the father begins run back to his son._

" _What the hell is this?" Abu Bakaar grabs the boy and violently throws him to the ground before knocking the father to the ground and stamping on him vehemently several times._

" _Shoot this dog! You're all incompetent!" The children look on terrified, wide eyed and pale, as a soldier points a rifle at their father's head._

 _Suddenly a red blur streaks over the mountains, landing in the village square, as a black smaller blur follows and shoots a soldier's gun out of his hands along the way._

 _A soldier opens fire upon both of them, but the bullets have no effect._

 _The soldier gets thrown back, flying over the buildings, as lasers are used to kill – or decapitate in Taylor's case – the remaining soldiers._

 _When faced with the group of soldiers and hostages, Jarvis distinguishes terrorist from victim on the holoscreens, and smaller, shoulder mounted guns are used to kill the hostages._

 _Taylor quickly helps the young boy over to his father before going back to conform the wellbeing over the mother._

 _Abu Bakaar tries to hide in a house and make a phone call as the two make their way through the village, but a black metal figure slams through the roof as a red gauntlet reaches through the wall and tosses him out of the house and to the feet of the villagers._

" _He's all yours." A slightly robotic male voice reports as he nods to the other figure before flying back up._

 _They take off from Gulmira to where the weapons are stored and take aim at the Jerichos and Shermans, but they're targeted by tank fire and shot out of the sky before they can fire._

 _They climb from the massive crater their fall created, ignoring the bullets pinging off the suits, and take aim at the missiles again, firing this time before fly away._

* * *

 _ **Edwards' Air Force Base**_

 _Airmen watch satilite images of the events happening around Gulmira when one airman turns to another._

" _What the hell was that? Were we cleared to go in there?"_

 _The second airman shakes his head. "No, they were using human shields. We never got the green light."_

 _A Major speaks up, his voice tense. "Put me through to State. They're going to be all over this."_

" _Get those monitors up! We got a bogey! Wasn't Air Force!_

" _We got the CIA on the line?"_

" _I've got Langley on the line. They want to know if it's us."_

" _No, it definitely is not us, Sir!"_

" _It's wasn't Navy."_

" _Wasn't Marines."_

 _The Major clenches his jaw. "I need answers! Can I please get eyes on target?"_

" _Negative, negative. Cannot identify."_

" _Get me Colonel Rhodes from Weapons Development down here now!"_

* * *

" _We ran an lD check and cross-referenced with all known databases. We have nothing."_

 _Rhodey glances at the Major. "Any high altitude surveillance in the region?"_

 _One airman speaks up. "We got an AWAC and a Global Hawk in the area."_

" _So this thing just appeared out of nowhere? How come it didn't show up on the radar?"_

" _Got a minimal radar cross-section, Sir."_

 _Rhodey sighs. "Is it stealth?"_

 _The airman shakes his head. "No, Sir, it's tiny. We think it's an unmanned aerial vehicle."_

" _Colonel, what are we dealing with here?"_

 _Rhodey looks back at the surveillance. "Let me make a call. Sergeant, clear a hole."_

* * *

 _Tony answers the phone on the holoscreen, Taylor watching him from a corner of the screen. "Hello?"_

" _Tony?"_

" _Who's this?"_

" _It's Rhodes."_

" _Sorry, hello?"_

" _I said it's Rhodes!"_

" _Speak up please!" Tony has to yell over the wind noise._

" _What the hell is that noise?" Rhodey asks, annoyed._

" _Oh…" Tony pauses. "I'm driving with the top down."_

" _Yeah, well, I need your help right now."_

" _Funny how that works, isn't it?"_

" _Yeah. Speaking of funny, we've got a weapons depot that was just blown up a few clicks from where you were being held captive."_

 _Tony hums. Well, that is a hot spot. Sounds like someone slipped in and did your job for you."_

 _Taylor grins with a soft snort._

" _Why do you sound out of breath, Tony?"_

" _I'm not, I'm jogging in the canyon."_

" _I thought you were driving?"_

" _Right…I'm driving to the canyon, where I'm going to jog."_

" _You sure you don't have any tech in that area I should know about?"_

" _Nope!"_

 _An airman cuts in on Rhodey's side. "Bogey spotted! Whiplash, come in hot."_

" _Good, because I'm looking at one right now that's about to be blown to kingdom come."_

 _Two fighter planes appear behind Taylor and Tony, and Taylor sends a panicked glance at Tony. "And that's my exit."_

 _Tony ends the call and swerves sharply to avoid the planes. "Taylor?"_

" _Yeah?"_

" _Remember those aerial evasion techniques you were reading about?"_

" _Yes…"_

" _Time to use them now! Scatter!"_

 _Taylor drops suddenly to avoid a stream of bullets, rolling quickly to the left._

 _The first pilot reports back to Rhodey. "Ballroom, this is Whiplash One. I've got the bogeys in my sights."_

" _Multiple?"_

" _Two, sir."_

" _What are they?"_

" _I have no idea."_

" _You have radio contact?"_

" _Non-responsive, sir."_

" _Then you are clear to engage."_

 _A button labeled 'Supersonic flight' shows up on both holoscreens._

" _Hit it."_

" _That bogey just went supersonic. I got a lock!" The airman fires a missile, which Jarvis sees coming._

" _Jarvis, flares!" They both yelp, causing a swarm of flares to be set off by both suits. The flares deflect the missile and it explodes, sending bot suits into a downwards spiral._

" _Wait a second. Bogey deployed flares!"_

" _Jarvis, deploy flares! Taylor, up!"_

 _Tony's flaps jerk him up quickly between the planes, Taylor shooting straight up from her former position._

 _One of the pilots yelp. "Holy-"_

" _Those things just jumped off the radar, sir. The sat visual has been lost."_

" _No way those are UAVs."_

 _Rhodey sighs. "Then what are they?"_

" _I can't see anything. Whatever it was, it just bought the farm, I think bogey's been handled, Sir."_

 _Rhodey nods and looks down to see his phone ringing. "Hello?"_

 _Tony answers, still in the suit. "Hey, Rhodey, it's me."_

" _It's who?"_

 _Tony sighs. "I'm sorry, it is me. You asked... What you were asking about... is me."_

" _No, see, this isn't a game. You do not send civilian equipment into my active war zone. You understand that?"_

" _No, it's not a piece of equipment!" Tony protests. "I'm in it! It's a suit. It's me!"_

" _And the other one…?"_

" _Taylor!" Tony watches as a black blur speeds past, trying to outrun the jets._

 _On Rhodey's end of the line, the Major call out. "Rhodey, you got anything for me?"_

 _The base sends a message to the pilots. "Mark your position and returns to base."_

" _Roger that." The first pilot, Whiplash One, looks over to Whiplash Two and sees Tony clinging to the bottom while Taylor is on the bottom of his own plane. "On your belly! It looks like a man! Shake him off! Roll! Roll!"_

" _You've got one too, Whiplash One. Smaller, looks like a female."_

 _Both planes roll side to side to try and shake off there unwanted passengers. Tony gets thrown off and into the wing of Whiplash One while Taylor slips and gets sent into Whiplash Two's slipstream, sending her tumbling wildly._

" _I'm hit! I'm hit!"_

 _The pilot of Whiplash One looks over, confirming Whiplash Two's report. "It's confirmed. He has been hit. Punch out! Punch out!"_

" _Whiplash One down!"_

" _Whiplash Two, do you see a chute?"_

 _The pilot glances quickly. "Negative. No chute, no chute!"_

 _Whiplash One's pilot comes back on radio. "My chute's jammed!"_

 _As the pilot continues to fall, Tony catches up with him as Taylor works to steady out her flight, burn marks from the plane engine evident on her suit._

 _Whiplash Two sees Tony. "Sir, I've got a visual on the bogey."_

 _The Major eyes. "Whiplash Two, re-engage. If you have a clear shot, take it."_

 _Rhodey shakes his head. "Major, we don't even know what we're shooting at. Call off the Raptors."_

" _That thing just took out an F-22 in a legal no-fly zone!" The Major insists. "Whiplash Two, if you have a clear shot take it!"_

 _A warning pops up on both holoscreens. "You have been re-engage. Execute evasive maneuvers."_

" _Keep going!' Tony shouts, still racing after Whiplash One's pilot. Taylor just shakily begins to fly in zigzags and tight curls._

 _Tony grabs the pilot and punches the chute release button, sending the parachute billowing safely out and delivering the pilot to the ground._

" _Good chute!" the pilot reports. "Good chute!"_

 _On Tony's holoscreen, Rhodey's face pops up._

" _Hey, Rhodey, give me a second." Tony puts him on hold, turning to Taylor's picture elsewhere on the screen. "Taylor, you good?"_

" _Yeah." She breathes. "Meeting your position now."_

 _Tony glances around him to see a black shape arcing up towards him. "Good. You want to talk to Rhodey with me?"_

" _Sure thing."_

" _Okay." Tony connects the two calls and turns back to Rhodey, taking him off hold. "Taylor's on the line. You were saying, platypus?"_

" _You crazy sons of guns…you two owe me a plane, you know that, right?"_

 _Tony and Taylor laugh. "Yeah, well, technically, he hit me. So, now are you going to come by and see what I'm working on?"_

 _Rhodey quickly shakes his head. "No, no, no, no, no, no, the less I know, the better. Now, what am I supposed to tell the press?"_

" _Training exercise." Taylor suggests. "Isn't that the usual excuse?"_

 _Rhodey sighs. "It's not that simple."_

* * *

 _Rhodey is shown talking to the press about the plane crash near Gulmira._

" _An unfortunate training exercise involving an F-22 Raptor occurred yesterday. I am pleased to report that the pilot was not injured."_

* * *

 _Obie is shown angrily watching the news about the attack._

" _As for the unexpected turn of events on the ground in Gulmira, it is still unclear who or what intervened, but I can assure you that the United States government was not involved."_

* * *

 _Tony is shown getting his suit pulled off while Taylor sits in half her suit, removing it manually with the help of Butterfingers, You, and Dummy._

" _Hey!"_

" _It's is a tight fit, Sir. Sir, the more you struggle, the more this is going to hurt."_

" _Be gentle." Tony whines. "This is my first time... I designed this to come off, so... Oww... Hey... I really should be able to..."_

 _Taylor snickers and glances over as she helps the bots pry off one of her hip pieces. "Having fun over there?"_

" _Hardly. This should really come off easier…ah, ow…"_

" _I think the assembly bots need calibration." She shakes her head. "That's why I'm over here."_

" _Remind me to do that calibration tomorrow." Tony winces. "Hurry up, Jarvis."_

" _Almost done, sir."_

" _Dummy, don't you dare dent that – no, not there…Butterfingers, help him. There we go."_

 _The bots chirp happily as they remove the hip piece and begin working on the thighs._

 _Taylor grins at her dad quickly, but she does a double take once she sees something troubling._

" _Are those bullet holes?"_

 **A~A~A**

Everyone in the room starts clapping, and I stand to take a small bow.

"Nice work!" Natasha grins. "Great speed."

"The Man and Lady of Iron are formidable at evading and chasing their foes!"

"Aw, thanks guys." I gush. "But that wasn't it."

Steve looks confused. "It wasn't."

"We haven't solved the Obie problem yet." Clint explains before I can open my mouth.

"Yes." I nod. "That's next."


	18. Chapter 18

"And now we find out the truth about Obie and I do some spying."

"Spying?" Natasha perk up. "This I want to see."

"Not, like, assassinations or anything," I clarify quickly. "Just sneaking in, getting files, and sneaking back out."

"So recon?"

"Not really…"

"Was it under S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Nope."

"Did you have weapons?"

"No."

"Did-"

"Natasha, тихо. Wait and see."

"Sorry, Тейлор."

 **A~A~A**

 _A caravan of SUVs is shown pulling up to a camp in Afghanistan. The car in the lead stops, and Obie steps out and is greeted by Raza, leader of Ten Rings._

"That hellhound!" Natasha snarls.

"That's kind of his point."

" _Welcome," Raza indicates a large burn on his face. "Compliments of Tony Stark."_

" _lf you'd killed him when you were supposed to, you'd still have a face," Obie snaps._

" _You paid us trinkets to kill a prince," Raza retorts._

" _Show me your weapon." Obie orders._

" _Come. Leave your guards outside." Raza and Obie walk inside a tent that houses Tony's original Iron Man armor. "His escape bore unexpected fruit."_

" _So this is how he did it," Obie muses, his voice tinged with awe._

" _This is only a first, crude effort." Raza explains. "Stark and his daughter have perfected their designs. He has made a masterpiece of death, his daughter a threatening shadow. A man with a dozen of these can rule all of Asia. And you dream of Stark's throne. We have a common enemy. lf we are still in business, I will give you these designs as a gift. And in turn, I hope you'll repay me with a gift of iron soldiers."_

 _Obie raises a small device and places it on the back of Raza's head. It emits a high pitched buzzing noise and paralyzes Raza. "This is the only gift you shall receive. Technology. It's always been your Achilles' heel in this part of the world. Don't worry. It'll only last for 15 minutes. That's the least of your problems."_

 _Obie leaves the tent, emerging outside where his guards have taken over the compound. "Crate up the armor and the rest of it," he orders. "All right, let's finish up here." As he walks back to the SUV, the guards kill the Ten Rings soldiers._

 _In the car, Obie is shown on the phone. "Set up Sector 16 underneath the arc reactor, and I'm going to want this data masked. Recruit our top engineers. I want a prototype right away."_

* * *

 _Tony is shown in his workshop working on the suit, looking up as Taylor walks in and towards her own suit. "Hey. You busy? You mind if I send you on an errand? I need you to go to my office. You're going to hack into the mainframe and you're going to retrieve all the recent shipping manifests. Take this lock chip," he hands her a USB stick, "It'll get you in. It's probably under Executive Files. lf not, they put it on a ghost drive, in which case you need to look for the lowest numeric heading."_

" _I know what a ghost drive is," Taylor reminds him. "And what do you plan to do with this information if I bring it back here?"_

" _Same drill," Tony shrugs. "They've been dealing under the table, and I'm going to stop them. I'm going to find my weapons and destroy them."_

 _Taylor sighs. "Dad, you know I want to stop him as much as you do, but what are we doing after this?"_

" _There is nothing except this. There's no art opening. There is no benefit. There is nothing to sign. There is the next mission and nothing else."_

" _Nothing else? Really? So we're just going to become fat, rich slobs after everything we've done? I don't want to." Taylor slams the USB on the table and turns to walk out._

" _You stood by my side all these years while we reaped the benefits of destruction. And now that we are trying to protect the people that we put in harm's way, you're going to walk out?" Tony stares after her incredulously._

 _Taylor whirls back around. "You're going to kill yourself and possibly me too! I don't want to be a part of that!"_

" _I shouldn't be alive, unless it was for a reason. I'm not crazy, Taylor. I just finally know what I have to do... And I know in my heart that it's right."_

 _Taylor grumbles something about clichéd lines but grabs the USB off the table anyways. "You're all I have, too, you know."_

* * *

 _Taylor is shown exiting an elevator and entering Tony's office. She walks up to the computer, inserts the USB, and uses it to log in; finding the mainframe and discovering the Iron Man designs. "Sector 16?" she breaths. "Obie, what you up to?"_

 _She clicks on a video file and the video pops up to show Tony being held by Ten Rings. She clicks a few more keys and the dialogue translates into English._

" _You did not tell us that the target you paid us to kill was the great Tony Stark. As you can see, Obadiah Stane-"_

 _Taylor's eyes widen. "Oh my god."_

" _-your deception and lies will cost you dearly. The price to kill Tony Stark has just gone up."_

 _Taylor quickly begins copying the files to the USB, startling slightly as Obie enters the office._

" _So, what are we going to do about this? I know what you're going through, sweetheart." Taylor grits her teeth and activates the screen saver just as Obie joins her at the desk. "I was so happy when he came home. It's was like we got him back from the dead. Now I realize, well, Tony never really did come home, did he? He left a part of himself in that cave and you lost a part of yourself too. Breaks my heart."_

 _Taylor shirts her feet slightly. "Well, you know what they say about complicated people. We've been through a lot. I think we'll be all right."_

" _You're a unique girl, Taylor. Tony doesn't know how lucky he is."_

" _Thanks. I need to get back." She slips the USB out of the computer and into a folded up newspaper._

" _Is that today's paper?"_

" _What? Oh, yeah."_

" _Do you mind? Puzzle."_

" _Of course."_

" _Take care, Taylor."_

 _Obie goes back to the computer, sees what Taylor was downloading, and furiously follows her_

* * *

 _Agent Coulson is shown in the lobby of Stark Industries waiting for Taylor. "Ms. Stark? We had an appointment. Did you forget about our appointment?"_

" _Of course not. Come with me. We're going to have it right now."_

" _Right now?"_

" _Yeah. Walk with me." She glances up to see Obie watching intently from the floor above. "I'm going to give you the meeting of your life. Your office."_

* * *

 _A scientist is shown on the phone. "Yeah, we've been working our best to do it. Absolutely, we're..." he looks up to see Obie enter the room. "I'm going to have to call you back. Mr Stane? Sir, we've explored what you've asked us, and it seems as though there's a little hiccup. Actually..."_

 _Obie raises an eyebrow. "A hiccup?"_

" _Yes, to power the suit, Sir, the technology actually doesn't exist. So it's..."_

" _Wait, wait, wait. The technology? William, here is the technology. I've asked you to simply make it smaller."_

" _Tony Stark was able to build this in a cave! With a box of scraps!"_

" _Well, sir, I'm not Tony Stark."_

* * *

 _Tony and Taylor are shown in the living room of the Malibu house, Taylor lounging on the couch watching TV while Tony's phone rings, the caller ID showing Rhodey. Tony answers it, but before he can speak a high pitched beeping noise sounds and he freezes, his phone falling to the ground with Rhodey still on the other line. "Tony? Tony, are you there? Hello?"_

 _Obie picks up the phone and lowers Tony gently onto the couch while Taylor watches frozen from fear. "Breathe. Easy, easy," Obie shows Tony the device. "You remember this one, right? It's a shame the government didn't approve it. There's so many applications for causing short-term paralysis." He turns Tony's head to face him. "When I ordered the hit on you, I worried that I was killing the golden goose. But, you see, it was just fate that you survived. You had one last golden egg to give."_

 _He reaches for the reactor, and Taylor finally stands and barrels towards him. "Hey-"_

 _Obie grab her neck and holds her still for a moment, then there's a flash of silver and blood covering her arms as she collapses and is forced to watch events unfold, completely helpless._

"Pause," I whisper, rolling the sleeves of my long sleeved shirt up on my left arm to reveal a long, slightly puckered scar running from the crook of my elbow to my wrist. I chuckle humorlessly. "Pretty sure he was trying to hit a vein. Its twin was on my right arm."

Clint stares at the scar, bloodlust and rage creeping into his eyes. "He tried to kill you."

"This wasn't the last time."

 _Obie watches her fall and the blood spread for a moment before kneeling next to Tony and unscrewing the reactor. "Do you really think that just because you have an idea, it belongs to you? Your father, he helped give us the atomic bomb. Now, what kind of world would it be today if he was as selfish as you?"_

 _He disconnects the reactor and Tony's breathing becomes labored. "Oh, it's beautiful. Tony, this is your Ninth Symphony. What a masterpiece. Look at that. This is your legacy. A new generation of weapons with this at its heart. Weapons that will help steer the world back on course, put the balance of power in our hands. The right hands. I wish you could see my prototype. It's not as... Well, not as conservative as yours. Too bad you had to involve Taylor in this. I would have preferred that she lived."_

* * *

 _Rhodey is shown talking to Jarvis on the phone. "What do you mean, he paid to have Tony killed? Jarvis, slow down. Why would Obadiah... Okay, where's Tony now?"_

 _Coulson is shown walking through the garage with several other agents as Jarvis talks. "I don't know, he's not answering his phone. Please go over there and make sure everything's okay. Thank you, Colonel. Agent Coulson, there is a shortcut you can use."_

* * *

 _Tony is shown stumbling into an elevator and pressing the button for the workshop, leaning heavily against the elevator wall as it moves from floor to floor. Once the_ _elevator doors open again, he drags himself across the floor towards the first generation reactor Taylor gave him. He reaches as high as he cans from the floor, but comes up short. Dummy reaches up and lowers the reactor, bringing it into his reach._

" _Good boy," Tony breathes before smashing the glass case on the ground, freeing the reactor._

* * *

 _Obie is shown standing front of his armor, inserting the reactor and lighting the suit up._

* * *

 _Rhodey is shown searching Tony's house. "Tony? Tony? Tony? Tony? Tony!" he finds Tony unconscious on the workshop floor and turns him over and Tony opens his eyes. "Tony! You okay?"_

" _Where's Taylor?"_

" _Coulson's with her, she's going to be okay."_

" _Her arms got sliced open, Rhodey, that's not going to be enough."_

* * *

 _Taylor is shown walking with Coulson, surrounded by other agents, an inch of bandages showing beyond her shirt sleeve. "Thanks."_

" _Don't mention it."_

 _Taylor nods. "Section 16. Section 16. There it is. My key's not working. It's not opening the door." Coulson attaches a small device to the doorknob. "Oh, what's that? Is that an electronic key? I like it."_

" _You might want to take a few steps back."_

 _They all step back as device explodes, slamming the door open. Obie hears the explosion and runs for his suit._

 **A~A~A**

"Duh dun dunnnn," Clint hums ominously, flinching as I slap him on the shoulder. "So that's why you wear a lot of long sleeves."

"How were you up so fast?" Bruce, ever the doctor, asks. "You lost so much blood and got your arms filleted."

I wince slightly at his description, but explain anyways. "Battlefield medicine until I could get sewn up properly after the battle."

Everyone frowns slightly as Clint and Natasha purse their lips, most likely reliving their own hasty medical procedures at some point.

"Well at least it was Coulson." Steve points out.

"True," I grin, then sober. "I owe him so much…"

Clint puts a hand on my shoulder and kisses my temple. "I know. We all do."

"Thank god for Coulson," Natasha sighs.

"I'd probably be dead." I conclude.

"Pretty sure that all of us would have died at some point had it not been for him."

"Conclusion: we're all brave idiots who need the American version of James Bond to saves us."


	19. Chapter 19

The temperature in the room seems to rise a few degrees as a bubble of tension surrounds me, almost anticipating what's going to happen. I draw a deep breath in and pull my knees up to my chest and wrap my arms around them, a shudder running down my spine. "The finale approaches."

Clint shifts and pulls me a little closer, "Hey, it's alright. You didn't die!"

I grin slightly and accept his half-hug. "I guess…that's about all I didn't lose."

Natasha give me a meaningful look. "You became a kickbutt superhero, silver lining over here."

I shrug as the screen lights up again.

 **A~A~A**

 _Tony and Taylor are shown putting on the armors as Rhodey watches._

" _That's the coolest thing I've ever seen."'_

 _Taylor grins with her faceplate flipped up. "Not bad, huh?"_

 _Tony nods. "Let's do this. Can you move that Audi?"_

 _Taylor fires at an already destroyed car to shove it out of the way._

 _Rhodey looks up at them. "Need me to do anything else?"_

 _Tony and Taylor glance at each other and command "Keep the skies clear," simultaneously before Tony clicks his faceplate down and shoots out the hole created by the first test flight, followed by a fully suited Taylor._

 _Rhodey sighs and looks over at the spare armor pieces on the table. "Damn. Next time, baby." He climbs into Tony's Audi and drives out of the workshop._

 _._

 _Coulson and a few other agents are shown searching Sector 16 for Obie._

 _Coulson sees the original armor. "They were right, he was building a suit."_

 _One of the other agents peeks over his shoulder. "I thought it would be bigger."_

 _Coulson turns around to look at the area around them and sees Obie's armor light up and looms above, the holoscreen targeting him as he backs up._

" _Take it out!" An agent opens fire as the agents evacuate the room, the armor getting stuck in the doorway as it tries to follow._

 _._

 _Tony and Taylor are shown flying through the quickly darkening sky towards the Stark Industries factory. "How do you think the Mark I chest piece is going to hold up?"_

" _The suit's at 48% power and falling, sir. That chest piece was never designed for sustained flight."_

" _Why didn't we design this better?"_

 _Tony ignores his daughter exclamation. "Keep me posted, J."_

 _The holoscreen shows that Coulson is calling, and Tony answers the call and lets Taylor join. "Coulson-"_

" _Stark, are you two okay?"_

" _I'm fine. How are..."_

" _Stane, he's gone insane!"_

" _You just realized that?" Taylor asks sarcastically. "Just now?"_

 _Tony shoots her a warning look. "I know. Listen, you'd better get out of there."_

" _He built a suit!"_

" _Just get out! Now!" Taylor snaps._

 _Coulson is running out of the factory surrounded by a few agents and chased by Obie's suit, the Iron Monger._

" _Where do you think you're going? Your services are no longer required." The guns on the suit's arms are pointed at Coulson._

 _A red blur appears, streaking towards the larger suit. "Stane!" Tony draws the fire away from Coulson while another black blur, barely visible against the sky, swoops in and grabs Coulson, bringing him to safety._

 _Iron Man and Iron Monger collide hard and fast, sending them both through the floor, a wall, and across a freeway, hitting several cars as the go. Taylor follows all of this quickly, approaching the scene just as Obie picks up a car with a mother and two children, threatening to throw it at Tony._

" _I love this suit!"_

" _Put them down, Stane!" Taylor warns. "There are kids in there."_

" _Shut up, you little brat. It's collateral damage." Obie snarls._

 _Tony clenches his jaw, "Divert power to chest RT." His chest piece glows brighter and fires a laser that hits Iron Monger and knocks him back, Taylor moving to grab the car as it falls._

" _Power reduced to 19%, Sir," Jarvis warns Tony as Taylor sets the car down only to have it ram forward into him._

" _No, no no no no!" Tony groans as the car drives over him before he finally frees himself._

" _That…looked like it hurt," Taylor winces. "You okay?"_

 _Iron Man Shrugs as he replies, "As good as I can be right now…watch out!"_

 _Taylor barely has time to dive wildly to the side before Iron Monger pops back up, grabbing Tony by an ankle, slamming him into the ground. "For 30 years, I've been holding you up!" He slams Tony again._

" _I built this company from nothing!" Another slam._

" _Nothing is going to stand in my way. Least of all you!" Obie slams Tony again before aim a rocket at a nearby bus, throwing Tony up in a huge ball of fire._

 _Suddenly a black blur shoots towards Iron Monger and slams into his side, knocking him to the ground. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!"_

" _Shut up, you brat!" Obie roars from inside the suit. "You don't understand!"_

" _Oh, but don't I?" Taylor counters in an eerily calm voice. "I understand more that you think, Stane. Like how you enjoy under the table deals. How you sold us out. How you worked me to the bone, working a three-person workload for a week by myself. I know that you wanted your own godson_ _ **dead.**_ _Does that cover it yet?" she asks rhetorically, her voice dripping with venomous sarcasm._

" _You little-" Obie takes a swing at her, but her suit is up and out of the way before he can land a hit._

 _While Iron Monger was occupied, Iron Man had fired up his palm and boot thrusters and was now hovering above Obie. "Up here!"_

" _Impressive! You've upgraded your armor!" Obie observes gleefully. "I've made some upgrades of my own!" He fires up the gigantic rocket boots and slowly takes flight too._

" _Sir, ma'am," Jarvis reports dutifully, "It appears that his suit can fly."_

" _Duly noted," Tony and Taylor drawl simultaneously, both taking flight._

" _Take me to maximum altitude," Tony orders. "Taylor, stay here."_

" _What? No!"_

" _With only 15% power, the odds of reaching that..."_

" _I know the math!" Tony snaps at Jarvis before turning to his daughter. "Under no circumstance are you to follow me, do you understand?"_

" _But dad, this isn't-"_

" _Taylor Maria-"_

" _Fine," she snaps, black metal glinting as she folds her arms. "No need to use the middle name treatment. Go!"_

 _Tony doesn't reply as he takes off after his godfather turned nemesis, leaving Taylor to watch in silence from the ground._

 **A~A~A**

"Hey!" Clint whines immediately after the screen shuts off. "He should've let you fight!"

"Do not underestimate the protectiveness of a sire over his young, friend Hawk," Thor warns. "The Man of Iron's actions were admirable."

Clint scowls as I harrumph at the screen. "I still wish he would've let me."

"At least you get to fight with us," Steve consoles me.

"Yeah," I mutter under my breath, "that's why."

"Was your dad stern like that a lot?" Bruce asks cautiously.

I study the ceiling as I consider that. "Not much, no. Mainly when it comes to a matter of life and death. Like that time with the London Loki bomb-"

"Still incredibly stupid," Clint grumbles.

"-or this one time I managed to blow up and entire lab. _On accident,_ " I add quickly as I notice their horrified expressions.

"Right," Natasha nods slowly, not looking entirely convinced. "Accident, right."

"I swear it was!" I insist. "Not my fault!"

" _Sure_."


	20. MAJOR AUTHOR'S NOTE

**Major Author's note! Important!**

 **As of today, it has one year since I started writing my first book,** _ **Iron Beta: Life as Tony Stark's Daughter**_ **. One year.**

 **I would like to give a huge thank-you to every person that's ever reviewed, favorited, or followed any of my stories, because there's actually quite a lot of you and you have** _ **no idea**_ **how much I appreciate all of you.**

 **And now, a quick update.**

 _ **Iron Beta**_ **'verse (canon!Avengers):** _ **Dissension**_ **, the latest story in this verse, is coming along smoothly. I am accepting requests for one shots, please PM me if you have a request. And keep reviewing, following, etc.**

 _ **Saved by the Bell**_ **'verse (teacher AU Avengers): consider this verse on hiatus because my muse for that story died. Sorry for all of you that liked that story, but I am taking requests for other AUs as well. PM me or review with an AU idea.**

 _ **Whispers in the Dark**_ **(canon!Harry Potter): this should be getting updated fairly smoothly. The only problem I have with this is that fact that I am literally getting almost no reviews. Do you guys not like this? What's your stance? PLEASE TELL ME.**

 **If anyone has any questions, comments, concerns, suggestions, or the like, please PM me, review, or email me at ironsparrow99 [at symbol] gmail . com.**

 **Thanks,**

 **IronSparrow99.**


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